Iranian Influence Attempt Using AI Foiled by OpenAI

A covert influence operation orchestrated by Iranian threat actors tracked as "Storm-2035" was identified last week by OpenAI. This operation aimed to manipulate public opinion using AI-generated content through ChatGPT. The actors utilized AI to generate both long-form articles and shorter social media comments, which were disseminated via social media platforms like X and Instagram. In response to these findings, OpenAI took measures to mitigate the abuse of its services for such operations. "We have banned these accounts from using our services, and we continue to monitor for any further attempts to violate our policies. The operation used ChatGPT to generate content focused on several topics—including commentary on candidates on both sides in the U.S. presidential election – which it then shared via social media accounts and websites," said OpenAI.

The primary goal of Storm-2035 was to influence political perspectives surrounding the U.S. presidential elections, among other global and regional political issues. Despite their efforts, the operation was not assessed to have resulted in "meaningful audience engagement." Indicators of this lack of success include minimal likes, shares, or comments on the posts generated by the operation and a low impact rating on the Brookings’ Breakout Scale, which placed it at the lower end of Category 2. This scale is used to measure the extent of audience engagement and the spread of content created by covert operations.

The content produced by Storm-2035 was shared through a network of disguised social media accounts, including a dozen on platform X and one on Instagram. These accounts posed as belonging to various political groups within the U.S., aiming to blend divisive political content with mundane posts on non-political topics such as fashion and beauty, likely in an effort to appear more authentic and garner a wider following. Further, OpenAI has shared their findings and intelligence with governmental and campaign stakeholders to bolster defenses against such influence operations.