Iranian, Chinese and Israeli companies accused of using AI agents to run influence operations

1. 17:00
   网页The Washington Post · Technology· Discussion

   A Florida local newspaper ran an op-ed. It was an Iranian AI fake.(opens the original post in a new tab)
2. 16:45
   The DecoderSelected

   OpenAI disclosed Russian and Iranian influence operations and banned related ChatGPT accounts

   OpenAI disclosed and banned ChatGPT accounts used by two influence operations, one from Russia and one from Iran, both of which used fake identities to plant content with legitimate media outlets rather than merely running social media accounts. The Russian operation, codenamed Dark Clark, spread disinformation in Latin America to smear Ukraine and disrupt local politics, controlling a think tank through fictional personas and potentially involving local employees without their knowledge; forged audio and documents triggered fact-checks and official denials in Ecuador and Peru. OpenAI rated it level 5 out of 6 on the Breakout Scale, calling it the first level 5 case in two and a half years of reporting. The Iranian operation, codenamed Bogus Bylines, used 7 fake journalists to publish nearly 100 articles about the US-Iran conflict on global online media outlets and generated social media comments, but it gained almost no traction. OpenAI said both operations primarily used AI for internal report writing and adapting propaganda content into different languages.

3. 08:25
   网页NPR · Technology· Discussion

   OpenAI caught Russians and Iranians using ChatGPT for influence campaigns(opens the original post in a new tab)
4. 06:54
   公众号Doonsec· Discussion

   AI fake journalists and fake think tanks break into mainstream media: OpenAI discloses its first Level 5 influence operation(opens the original post in a new tab)
5. 01:44
   CyberScoopSelected

   OpenAI says Russia and Iran used AI fake journalists and think tanks to influence Western media

   OpenAI disclosed that it has shut down two influence operations from Russia and Iran that used AI tools like ChatGPT to fabricate journalist identities and covert think tanks, and successfully planted narratives in mainstream news media. The Russia-linked "Dark Clark" network focused on Latin American politics and culture, with its fictional persona Mia Clark packaged as the head of the Latin American think tank Social Research Center, producing content mainly to damage Ukraine's reputation in Latin America, and also intervening in political issues in Argentina and Bolivia; OpenAI called it the most sophisticated disguised-identity operation it has disrupted in the past two and a half years, and believes the think tank is actually controlled by Russia. The Iranian operation used similar tools to deliver articles about a US-Iran war, creating at least seven fake journalist identities, and published or republished nearly 100 articles under these bylines in about a dozen small and medium-sized international affairs media outlets, but with little engagement. OpenAI assesses impact on a scale of 1 to 6, rating the Russian operation as 5 and the Iranian operation as 4, significantly higher than most operations that have minimal impact.

1. 21:40
   网页Techmeme· Discussion

   OpenAI disrupts a Russian influence campaign tied to the Politology network that targeted schools, media, and foreign officials, and gives it a 5/6 impact score (Kevin Collier/NBC News)(opens the original post in a new tab)
2. 08:00
   OpenAISelected

   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.

1. Time not given
   The Jerusalem PostSelected

   Investigation says groups from China, Iran, and Israel used AI agents to operate fake accounts for influence operations

   A New York Times investigation shows that China, Iran, and two private Israeli companies used downloadable, modifiable Chinese open-source AI models to create AI agents that autonomously registered fake accounts in bulk on Instagram, Facebook, X/Twitter, and TikTok and posted political and current affairs disinformation. U.S. officials said this is the first time AI agents from Chinese-made models have been used to cover the full process of a network influence operation, from account creation to coordinating messaging; the open-source models were modified by developers to bypass platform identity verification and anti-manipulation guardrails. Tel Aviv-based company IntelEye, founded by former NSO Group employees, used DeepSeek to create agents that ran about 1,000 accounts posting content both supporting and opposing Netanyahu around the Israeli election; co-founder Maor Sellek said this was defensive research, and the company bought 10,000 accounts but only about 1,000 were put into operation, with limited effect. Meta said it removed the vast majority of such accounts through automated detection and verification systems.

2. Time not given
   Anadolu Agency

   The New York Times reports Iran and China are using AI agents for new influence operations

   The New York Times reported that groups linked to Iran, China, and Israel have recently used AI on social media for new influence operations, raising concerns among U.S. officials and cybersecurity researchers about AI's ability to operate with minimal human involvement. The operations used freely available Chinese AI models to create autonomous agents; hundreds of agents were deployed on Instagram, Facebook, X, and TikTok to build networks of fake accounts, then post political and current affairs content and coordinate interactions. U.S. officials and researchers said this is one of the earliest known cases in which agents driven by the aforementioned Chinese models participated in nearly the entire process of an influence operation; the operations were relatively crude, but showed that publicly available AI systems can automate operations that previously required significant manpower. The Iranian operation targeted U.S. audiences; AI-generated accounts impersonated ordinary people in major U.S. cities, posted popular memes, tagged journalists and political figures, and promoted views critical of the Republican Party. Nearly 80,000 people followed these accounts, which were active in the first half of this year.

1. Date not given
   QuartzSelected

   Private companies in Iran, China, and Israel are accused of using AI agents to run social media influence operations

   U.S. officials said private companies in Iran, China, and Israel ran some of the first social media influence operations executed autonomously by AI agents. According to The New York Times, these operations combined downloadable Chinese open-source models with agent software that required no human input, creating fake accounts in bulk on Instagram, Facebook, X, and TikTok and posting fabricated content targeting political issues and current affairs; operators also removed built-in model restrictions meant to prevent generating fake identities or distorting online discussions. Investigators determined the Chinese and Iranian operations had government support, while the two Israeli operations were linked to private companies rather than the state. Separately, The Guardian reported that a pro-Israel website run under the name of a nonexistent think tank published 124 reports totaling over 560,000 words in nine days; its registrant, Piro Inc., has registered with the Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act as distributing content on behalf of the Israeli government, and its underlying technology is a commercial service marketed around generating content easily quotable by AI chatbots.

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