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Russian ChatGPT influence operation targeting Substack, Telegram, X, Facebook and LinkedIn

Campaign
First reported
Last updated
Happening score
H score 23
1 unique sources, 1 articles

Summary

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OpenAI banned a cluster of Russian ChatGPT accounts that used VPNs to run a cross-platform influence operation, interrupting a content-generation setup that spread promotional posts across major social networks. The operation promoted the International Burke Institute (IBI) and used AI to produce posts and comments for Substack, Telegram, X, Facebook and LinkedIn. OpenAI said the campaign reached relatively small audiences, but it also built a broader infrastructure to obscure the operators’ Russian origins and manufacture credibility.

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Timeline

  1. 26.08.2026 12:38 2 articles · 3h ago

    OpenAI bans Russian ChatGPT accounts used in an influence operation

    Initial Disclosure

    OpenAI said it banned a cluster of Russian ChatGPT accounts that used VPNs to bypass access restrictions and run an influence operation promoting the International Burke Institute, a self-described expert community based in Israel. The operators used ChatGPT to generate social media posts and comments for Substack, Telegram, X, Facebook and LinkedIn, instructed the model to avoid linguistic clues that could reveal Russian provenance, and pointed to a broader infrastructure built around ibi[.]institute, which was registered in February 2025 and included copied, misattributed academic work and a sovereignty index that cast Russia favorably.

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