OpenAI has taken action against an Iranian group known as Storm-2035 for using its ChatGPT chatbot to create content aimed at influencing the upcoming U.S. presidential election and other politically sensitive topics.
Last Friday, the Microsoft-backed AI company announced that it had disabled the accounts linked to the operation, which generated content on issues including the U.S. elections, the Gaza conflict, and Israel’s involvement in the Olympic Games.
According to OpenAI’s investigation, ChatGPT was used to produce long-form articles and shorter posts that were then disseminated across social media and various websites. However, the operation did not appear to gain significant traction. Most of the identified posts received little to no engagement in terms of likes, shares, or comments, and there was no indication that the web articles were widely shared on social platforms.
OpenAI confirmed that the accounts associated with Storm-2035 have been banned from using its services, and the company continues to monitor for any further attempts to violate its policies.
This move follows an August report by Microsoft, which revealed that the Iranian network Storm-2035 was actively engaging with U.S. voter groups on opposite sides of the political spectrum through polarising messaging on issues such as the U.S. presidential candidates, LGBTQ rights, and the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In May, the AI firm also disrupted five covert influence operations across the internet.
