OpenAI Blocks Russian Influence Campaign Masquerading as Israeli Think Tank

OpenAI revealed that it blocked a covert Russian influence operation promoting the International Burke Institute (IBI), a group falsely presented as an Israeli-based expert community. The campaign involved AI-generated social media posts, plagiarized academic articles, and a "sovereignty index" portraying Russia positively. OpenAI stated this was the first time it disrupted a complex Russian-linked influence effort.

The investigation began with AI-generated posts on platforms like X, LinkedIn, Facebook, Substack, and Telegram, which led to uncovering a broader campaign including a website registered in February 2025 claiming Israeli origins. Many articles on the IBI site were copied from legitimate academic sources with false attributions, sometimes translated awkwardly from Slavic languages. For example, a German coalition was inaccurately called "the Svetofor coalition," a direct Slavic translation of "traffic light."

The campaign also published reports comparing countries’ "sovereignty" levels, often criticizing nations opposing Russia’s war in Ukraine, such as France, Germany, and the EU, while promoting pro-Russian narratives about the US and others. Telegram channels like "Lahme Ente" and "American Observer" spread these messages, with some channels gaining 10,000 to 20,000 followers. Operators used ChatGPT via VPNs to generate content in English and Russian, deliberately masking their Russian origin.

OpenAI noted possible involvement of real individuals in Israel representing IBI at conferences and submitting articles, though the connection to Russian operators remains unclear. The company assessed the campaign’s reach as relatively limited but highlighted the sophisticated infrastructure built to create credibility and obscure the true source. OpenAI emphasized this case shows how AI can support long-term influence efforts by fabricating authority and preferred narratives.

OpenAI continues to focus on detecting and disrupting covert influence operations that seek to manipulate public opinion without revealing their origins.