A group of malicious ChatGPT accounts linked to a notorious cybercrime group were taken down by OpenAI after they were found to be attempting to spread content aimed at influencing voters.
The content posted covered a range of topics, notably the US elections, Israel’s participation in the Olympics, and the Gaza conflict. In its report, OpenAI stated that the content did not generate any significant response, with most posts receiving very few (if any) likes.
It turns out that the content generated by ChatGPT also included long-form articles posing as both progressive and conservative news sites under names such as “Westland Sun, EvenPolitics and Nio Thinker.”
Election threats
“OpenAI is committed to preventing abuse and improving transparency around AI-generated content,” said OpenAI. “This includes our work to detect and stop covert influence operations (IO) that attempt to manipulate public opinion or influence political outcomes while concealing the true identity or intentions of the actors behind them. This is especially important in the context of the many elections taking place in 2024. We have expanded our work in this area throughout the year, including by using our own AI models to better detect and understand abuse.”
The group behind the campaign, Storm-2035, was recently identified as a cluster of threat activity by Microsoft in a recent report examining Iranian online influence on the U.S. election.
Microsoft described the campaign as: “Actively targeting U.S. voters at opposite ends of the political spectrum with polarizing messages on issues such as the U.S. presidential candidates, LGBTQ rights, and the Israel-Hamas conflict.”
Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) predicted Earlier this year, Reuters news agency announced that Iran, along with Russia and China, would step up their cyber influence campaigns ahead of the US elections.
As we approach the 2024 US presidential election, Upward trend Malicious cyber activities by foreign threat actors have been reported, using a variety of tactics, including disinformation campaigns, phishing attacks, and hacking attacks.
The goals of these offensives seem clear: to disrupt the political process. By undermining public trust in information sources, public figures, and political structures, foreign threat actors are targeting the fabric of the American political system. By spreading distrust, chaos, and fear in the hearts of voters, they are helping to deepen the widespread divisions that already plague the American public.
The rise of artificial intelligence has made it easier to develop and spread misinformation, with more highly tailored content being generated than ever before. Our advice is: Stay critical and investigate the source if possible.
