OpenAI bans Russian and Iranian ChatGPT propaganda networks

US artificial intelligence company OpenAI said on Thursday that it banned a cluster of ChatGPT accounts that originated in Russia and Iran. The accounts supported "false front" entities that covertly spread geopolitical and conflict-related messaging, including propaganda against Ukraine. The company's report shows how state actors can easily use widely available AI tools to push sophisticated propaganda against adversaries at scale.

The Iranian operation

The Iranian network used seven "journalist" profiles posing as writers from Western countries, including the United States. They were used to place long-form articles in media outlets around the world. OpenAI identified almost 100 articles under the operation's bylines across roughly a dozen online outlets. These were small to medium outlets, generally focused on international affairs, geopolitics and Middle East events.

The earliest article dates from July 2025 and the latest from October 2026. Publication frequency rose after the US-Iran war began earlier this year. The operation also generated social media comments about that war.

One persona, Ervin B. Hoskins, claimed to be an American freelance writer and had accounts on X and Instagram. X's transparency information linked the account to a "West Asia android app", while Instagram's showed it was based in Iran. Both accounts appeared to be suspended.

The Russian operation

The Russian operation enlisted "unwitting people" in Latin America to run a "think-tank" called the Social Research Center (SRC). It was used for covert activity meant to damage Ukraine's reputation in the region and influence local politics. OpenAI said the evidence indicates SRC employees in Latin America did not know they worked for a Russian group, and that most original content came from this co-opted staff.

OpenAI described it as the most complex attempt to run a front identity that it has disrupted in the past two and a half years.