OpenAI said in a report that it uncovered an influence operation that used ChatGPT to craft social media content aimed at U.S. public debate.
The company identified two main clusters of activity, labelled "Data Center Bandwagon" and "Tech and Tariffs".
The Data Center Bandwagon campaign created posts suggesting AI data center buildouts were driving up electricity prices for average families.
The Tech and Tariffs cluster produced comments and images framing U.S. tariffs as a bid for technological advantage and was tied to suspected inauthentic social accounts that falsely claimed ChatGPT user data had been breached.
OpenAI said a separate group of users linked to a Chinese technology company with government ties sought to influence state-level debates as several U.S. states weigh potential restrictions on new data center development.
The company also said it banned Chinese-speaking users who leveraged ChatGPT to generate slogans and cartoons critiquing Trump’s trade and tech policy, material later posted across platforms, and that the same actors produced Chinese, Italian and Japanese content for article comment sections.
OpenAI’s findings arrive alongside a CrowdStrike report that found over 58% of state-sponsored cyberattacks on tech companies originate from China and after the Defense Department updated its "1260H list" to include Alibaba Group, Baidu and BYD.
