OpenAI Bans Russian ChatGPT Accounts in Pro-Kremlin Influence Operation

OpenAI announced on August 25, 2026, that it had banned a cluster of ChatGPT accounts originating in Russia, which were used to support a covert influence operation promoting a fictitious think tank and spreading narratives favorable to the Kremlin. The operators used virtual private networks to bypass OpenAI's access restrictions from Russia and employed the AI tool to generate social media content in multiple languages, primarily English, while explicitly instructing the model to conceal any linguistic clues that might reveal their Russian origins.

The campaign centered on an organization called the International Burke Institute, or IBI, which presented itself as an Israel-based expert community. Its website, registered in February 2025, listed a street address in Israel and claimed to feature prominent academics and intellectuals. However, OpenAI's investigation found the institute's appearance was largely manufactured. Of 36 articles published on the site between September 2025 and May 2026 that were examined, 34 had been copied from elsewhere online, with some misattributed to different authors. The site also falsely claimed partnerships with organizations including the...