OpenAI he said On Friday, it thwarted a campaign of influence used by Iran ChatGPT creating fake news and social posts aimed at Americans. The company said it identified and banned accounts for five websites that were creating content (in English and Spanish) that presented themselves as news outlets and spread “polarizing messages” about topics such as the US presidential campaign, LGBTQ+ rights and the war in Gaza.
The operation was designated as “Storm-2035”, part of a series of influence campaigns by Microsoft is defined “Associated with the Iranian government” last week. In addition to the news posts, “dozens on X and an account on Instagram” related to the operation were included. OpenAI said the operation had not gained any meaningful traction. “Most of the social media posts we identified received very few likes, shares or comments,” the company wrote.
In addition, OpenAI reported on this Brookings Institution Breakout ScaleThe threat assessment operation assigned only a Category 2 rating (on a scale of one to six). This means that it “has been active on multiple platforms, but there is no evidence that real people have picked up or widely shared its content.”
OpenAI described the operation as creating content for fake conservative and progressive news outlets, targeting opposing viewpoints. Bloomberg he said The content suggested that Donald Trump was “censored on social media and ready to declare himself king of the United States.” Another called Kamala Harris’ choice of Tim Waltz as her running mate as a “calculated choice for unity.”
OpenAI added that the operation also generated content about Israel’s participation in the Olympics and (to a lesser extent) Venezuelan politics, the rights of Latin American communities, and Scottish Independence. In addition, the campaign peppered the heavy stuff with comments on fashion and beauty “in an attempt to appear more authentic or build a following.”
“The operation tried to play both sides, but it didn’t seem like both were engaged,” said Ben Nimmo, an investigator at OpenAI Intelligence and Investigations. Bloomberg.
An influence-peddling scandal disclosed earlier this week Iranian hackers targeted both the Harris and Trump campaigns. The FBI said that Roger Stone, an unofficial adviser to Trump, was the victim of phishing emails. Later, Iranian hackers took control of his account and sent messages with phishing links to others. The FBI found no evidence that anyone in the Harris campaign was involved in the scheme.
