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Artificial intelligence has been used in disinformation and propaganda campaigns across international media, according to OpenAI. In a post on the company’s official blog, it said nearly 100 articles published under the names of seven fictitious journalists had appeared in about 12 media outlets worldwide.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that the company blocked a network of accounts that used ChatGPT to produce Persian-language analysis, editorial pitches and social media comments. The articles focused mainly on the foreign policies of the United States and Iran, as well as military tensions in the Middle East. AI-generated pieces featured provocative headlines such as “Is US policy on Iran being privatized? The Jared Kushner problem” and “The Iran war and the collapse of the West’s moral authority.”
Experts have described the case as a clear example of the use of AI tools in information warfare and propaganda campaigns amid regional military conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran. OpenAI representatives said the activity appeared consistent with a commercially motivated influence operation, but that they had not yet identified who was behind it.
The company said the platforms that published the articles did not include major media conglomerates, although some had sizable audiences. An article about Jared Kushner appeared in the Los Angeles-based publication LA Progressive. The management of the Middle East Monitor website said it had launched an internal investigation. OpenAI’s observations indicated that, after the articles were published, AI was used to generate automated social media reactions and comments supporting them.
Jessica Brandt, a U.S. expert on information security, said generative AI technologies give foreign actors greater capacity to conceal their digital footprints, spread disinformation through legitimate media channels and build more sophisticated networks of false information. AI-generated content can therefore complicate efforts to identify the origins and coordination of influence campaigns.
