OpenAI Bans Russian ChatGPT Accounts Tied to Influence Operation Promoting Fake Think Tank

OpenAI has banned a cluster of Russian ChatGPT accounts that used VPNs to bypass access restrictions and run an influence operation. The operation leveraged OpenAI’s AI tool to generate social media posts and comments promoting the International Burke Institute (IBI), a self-described ‘expert community’ based in Israel. The accounts were shared on platforms including Substack, Telegram, X, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

According to OpenAI, the investigation began with AI-generated social media posts and uncovered a broader influence operation. The IBI website, registered in February 2025, contained copied and misattributed academic work, a ‘sovereignty’ index that cast Russia in a favorable light, and efforts to disguise the operators’ Russian origins. The campaign reached relatively small audiences, with Telegram channels attracting 10,000-20,000 followers each. The majority of content was in English, and operators instructed ChatGPT to conceal linguistic clues that could reveal their Russian provenance.

OpenAI noted that the operation is distinct from previously documented Russia-linked influence operations. Its notable aspect was the creation of a sovereignty index, also called the Burke Index, which projects Russia favorably and criticizes Western countries. The index is calculated using seven indicators: political, economic, technological, information, cultural, cognitive, and military sovereignty. The U.S. leads the list with a score of 650.9, followed by China at 649.1, Switzerland at 610.7, and Russia at 601.4.

OpenAI emphasized that the significance of the operation lies less in the audience it reached than in the infrastructure it built. The actors used ChatGPT to produce isolated promotional posts that pointed to a credible-appearing institution with purported experts, republished academic work, and a proprietary risk index. This illustrates how influence actors can use AI as a supporting tool to manufacture authority and obscure the source of favored narratives.