A recent report by OpenAI has revealed how its AI model, ChatGPT is being used to generate fake content, including long-form articles and social media comments, aimed at influencing elections across the globe.
In a 54-page report published on October 9, 2024, the company said it has already detected 20 campaigns around the world since January, with more expected in the build-up to the US presidential elections in November.
According to the report, malicious actors have discovered that AI models like ChatGPT can generate coherent, persuasive text at an unprecedented scale. By leveraging this technology, malicious actors can create fake news articles, social media posts, and even fraudulent campaign materials designed to mislead voters.
These AI-generated messages can mimic the style of legitimate news outlets, making it increasingly difficult for the average citizen to discern truth from fabrication.
OpenAI said, in its report that this year, it has stopped people who tried to use ChatGPT to generate content about elections in the U.S., Rwanda, India, and the European Union. It’s not clear whether any were widely seen.
In one instance, the company described an Iranian propaganda operation of fake English-language news websites that purported to reflect different American political stances, though it’s not clear that those sites have ever gotten substantial engagement from real people. They also used ChatGPT to create social media posts in support of those sites, according to the report.
In a media call last September, U.S. intelligence officials said that propagandists working for Iran, as well as Russia and China, have all incorporated AI into their ongoing propaganda operations aimed at U.S. voters but that none appear to have found major success.
“In this year of global elections, we know it is particularly important to build robust, multi-layered defences against state-linked cyber actors and covert influence operations that may attempt to use our models in furtherance of deceptive campaigns on social media and other internet platforms,” OpenAI’s latest report stated.
The company also banned a number of accounts from Rwanda in July 2024 that were used to generate comments about the elections in that country for posting on the social media platform, X.
They were part of a larger campaign that repeatedly spammed pro-party posts on X, a documented propaganda campaign that posted messages — often the same few messages — more than 650,000 times.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.