Storm-2035 : Open AI
OpenAI recently said that it has banned ChatGPT accounts linked to an Iranian influence operation that used the chatbot to generate content to influence the U.S. presidential election.
- OpenAI downplayed the impact of operation, noting that the content did not engage much with audiences and was not widely shared.
- Storm-2035 is a covert Iranian influence operation identified by OpenAI, involving four websites posing as news organizations to target U.S. voters.
- The websites exploited issues like LGBTQ rights and Israel-Hamas conflict and also used AI tools to plagiarise stories and capture web traffic
- Operatives used ChatGPT to generate long-form articles and social media comments, which were then posted on various X and Instagram accounts.
- AI chatbots such as ChatGPT can potentially assist foreign operatives fool internet users by mimicking American users’ language patterns, rehashing already existing comments or propaganda, and cutting down the time it takes to create and circulate plagiarised content meant to sway voters.
- Apart from the upcoming U.S. presidential election, the operation covered global issues like Venezuelan politics, Latin rights in the U.S., the situation in Palestine, Scottish independence, and Israel’s participation in the Olympic Games. It also exploited popular topics such as fashion and beauty.
