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On August 16th, OpenAI announced that it had banned several Iranian accounts from using its ChatGPT platform due to their involvement in generating and disseminating false information about the US elections and other global events. This action was taken to enforce ChatGPT’s policies and to prevent further misuse of the technology for deceptive purposes.
The banned accounts were associated with a misinformation influence operation known as Storm-2035. This operation was first highlighted by Microsoft researchers in a series of reports released earlier this year, including detailed findings in April, June, and most recently on August 9. According to Microsoft’s report, Storm-2035 is part of a broader pattern of Iranian cyber-enabled influence activities, which have been prominent in at least the last three US election cycles.
Storm-2035 was one of seven Iranian threat groups identified in Microsoft’s comprehensive report, titled “Iran Steps into US Election 2024 with Cyber-Enabled Influence Operations.”, according to Cyber News. The report revealed that this group had been exploiting AI technologies, such as ChatGPT, to generate false narratives. These narratives were then distributed across various social media platforms and dubious news websites to mislead and polarize public opinion.
The group’s operation involved creating and maintaining several websites that masqueraded as legitimate news outlets since at least 2020. These sites targeted US voter groups on both ends of the political spectrum, employing divisive messaging on sensitive topics such as US presidential candidates, LGBTQ rights, and the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Despite their efforts, OpenAI noted that Storm-2035’s AI-generated content failed to gain significant traction. Most of the posts and articles produced by these accounts received minimal engagement, with few likes, shares, or comments on social media platforms.
In response to these developments, OpenAI has intensified its monitoring and enforcement measures to prevent further misuse of its technology.
