🇺🇸🇮🇷🇷🇺⚡️ — OpenAI says it has banned ChatGPT accounts linked to Russian and Iranian influence operations that used artificial intelligence to spread geopolitical propaganda, impersonate journalists and support covert organizations, NBC News reports.

The Iranian operation used seven fabricated Western journalist identities to publish more than 100 articles across 26 outlets.

The campaign began in 2025 and intensified after the U.S.-Iran war erupted in February 2026, using ChatGPT to refine articles, draft publication pitches and generate commentary critical of the war. There is no indication the outlets knew the contributors were fake.

The Russian operation, linked by researchers to the network known as Politology or La Compania, organized disinformation campaigns across Latin America aimed at discrediting Ukraine and influencing regional politics.

Its activities included impersonating education authorities in Peru and Ecuador, spreading rumors about Ukrainian military recruitment, circulating fake corruption allegations in Panama and promoting false reports about water shortages in Bolivia.

The network also operated a purported think tank called the Social Research Center, whose Latin American employees were unaware of its Russian connections. OpenAI found that Russian operators frequently used ChatGPT to prepare internal reports and exaggerate their campaigns' effectiveness.

OpenAI rated the Russian operation five out of six for its reach, making it the most impactful of the 30 influence operations the company says it has disrupted since 2024.