How Fake Journalists Got Iranian Articles Into Real Outlets

What happened

That is the central finding of a new OpenAI threat report, which describes banning both networks after tracing how they built false-front entities to push geopolitical, conflict-related messaging into target audiences. Two covert influence operations, one from Russia and one from Iran, used ChatGPT not to invent new tactics but to speed up old ones.

The report frames the activity as a return to pre-AI playbooks. The Iranian network's personas resemble "Alice Donovan," a front for Russian military intelligence whose articles appeared in Western outlets in 2016-17.

The Russian network's use of unwitting staff mirrors "PeaceData," a fake outlet run in 2020 by individuals linked to the Internet Research Agency. Why These Covert Influence Operations Stand Out The difference lies in reach.