E-Paper
Iranian operatives used AI to plant fake stories in US media, generate anti-US war narratives: OpenAI reveals
Iranian operatives used ChatGPT to prepare articles critical of the US war against Iran and generate social media comments.
Prefer HTon Google
Iranian operatives used artificial intelligence tools to help publish articles critical of the United States’ war against Iran in multiple media outlets, OpenAI said on October 8, raising fresh concerns about the use of AI to amplify foreign influence campaigns.
According to OpenAI’s findings, the operation involved seven fake journalists whose articles appeared in about a dozen publications worldwide. The articles, numbering roughly 100, were followed by AI-generated social media comments designed to spread narratives portraying Washington as the aggressor and Iran as a resilient victim.
The company said it had banned ChatGPT accounts used in the operation. The accounts had prompted the AI tool in Persian to revise articles, prepare editorial pitches and generate social media comments, according to OpenAI’s account of the disruption of AI-enabled influence operations.
The findings highlight how AI tools can be used not only to produce propaganda but also to help place it in genuine publications, potentially giving misleading narratives a wider audience.
Fake journalists, real media outlets
Some of the articles identified in the operation carried provocative headlines, including “Is America’s Iran Policy Being Privatized? The Jared Kushner Question” and “The Iran War and the Collapse of Western Moral Credibility.”
One article about Jared Kushner and US foreign policy appeared in the LA Progressive, a Los Angeles-based publication that describes itself as independent and justice-driven.
Middle East Monitor, a London-based publication with nearly two million Facebook followers, was another outlet identified in CNN’s reporting. Its director, Daud Abdullah, told CNN he would investigate the flagged articles and take appropriate action.
None of the publications identified appeared to be a major mainstream news organization, CNN reported, although some had substantial online audiences.
OpenAI said it could not establish who was behind the operation or determine whether the people involved were affiliated with the Iranian government. The company said the activity appeared consistent with a commercial actor conducting an influence campaign for hire.
That distinction is significant: the findings point to activity associated with Iran, but do not establish that the Iranian government directed it.
AI-generated comments targeted US policy
The operation extended beyond publishing articles. After the stories appeared, the users asked ChatGPT to generate comments that could be posted on social media as if they came from people reacting to the coverage, OpenAI said.
The requested comments addressed subjects including missile strikes, ceasefires and diplomatic manoeuvres. According to the company, the prompts sought to present the US as an aggressor, portray Israel as an unreliable American ally and depict Iran as defiant despite the conflict.
Jessica Brandt, who led the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s now-shuttered Foreign Malign Influence Center from 2023 to 2025, told CNN that AI could help foreign actors conceal their involvement and make it easier to circulate their messaging through legitimate channels.
The case comes amid a broader struggle to shape public perceptions of the US and Israel’s war with Iran. CNN also reported in September that false AI-assisted intelligence about a Chinese ship allegedly transporting nuclear components nearly prompted the US military to board the vessel.
