OpenAI banned Russian ChatGPT accounts backing covert influence operation

OpenAI banned a cluster of ChatGPT accounts that likely originated in Russia and were used to support a covert influence operation promoting a fabricated think tank called the International Burke Institute (IBI). Operators used Russian prompts, VPNs to bypass access restrictions, and ChatGPT to draft English-language social posts across platforms that funneled audiences to a professional-looking website containing copied and misattributed academic articles and a fabricated "Sovereignty/Burke Index" that favored Russia; reach appears limited but the operation built reusable influence infrastructure.