Iranian operatives used artificial intelligence tools to help publish articles critical of the United States’ war against Iran in multiple media outlets, OpenAI said on October 8, raising fresh concerns about the use of AI to amplify foreign influence campaigns.
The articles, numbering roughly 100, were followed by AI-generated social media comments designed to spread narratives portraying Washington as the aggressor and Iran as a resilient victim.
The operation involved seven fake journalists whose articles appeared in about a dozen publications worldwide, according to OpenAI’s findings. The company said it had banned ChatGPT accounts used in the operation. The accounts had prompted the AI tool in Persian to revise articles, prepare editorial pitches and generate social media comments, according to OpenAI ’s account of the disruption of AI-enabled influence operations.
Some of the articles identified in the operation carried provocative headlines, including “Is America’s Iran Policy Being Privatized? One article about Jared Kushner and US foreign policy appeared in the LA Progressive, a Los Angeles-based publication that describes itself as independent and justice-driven. That distinction is significant: the findings point to activity associated with Iran, but do not establish that the Iranian government directed it.
The Jared Kushner Question” and “The Iran War and the Collapse of Western Moral Credibility. OpenAI said it could not establish who was behind the operation or determine whether the people involved were affiliated with the Iranian government. The company said the activity appeared consistent with a commercial actor conducting an influence campaign for hire.
