OpenAI bans two AI-assisted fake front influence operations from Russia and Iran

OpenAI announced it banned two covert influence operations that used ChatGPT to support fake front entities, one originating from Russia and one from Iran. The Russian operation was named Dark Clark; its operators used ChatGPT to write internal reports, generate operational content, and control a self-described research platform called Social Research Center through a fake persona named Mia Clark, recruiting unwitting employees in Latin America to produce original content. The disinformation it spread triggered fact-checking and official denials, and was rated Level 5 on the IO Breakout Scale, the first Level 5 operation OpenAI has banned since it began reporting. The Iranian operation was named Bogus Bylines; it used seven fake journalist bylines to pitch nearly 100 long-form articles about the U.S.-Iran conflict to about a dozen small and mid-sized international affairs media outlets, and mass-generated social media comments. The articles were partly rated Level 4, while the comments were only Level 2.