Disrupting AI-Enabled "False Front" Operations
OpenAI, Thursday, October 8th, 2026
OpenAI banned Russian and Iranian influence operations that used its models to run fake journalists and a front think tank.
OpenAI's latest threat report, published to inform regulators, peers and the public, describes banning two covert influence operations from Russia and Iran that used its models to support 'false front' entities.
The Iranian operation ran seven fake journalist personas pitching long-form articles to small and mid-sized outlets and generated social media comments about the US-Iran war.
The Russian operation appears to have co-opted unwitting people in Latin America to run a think tank and created fake leaked documents and audio scripts.