# OpenAI Bans Russian ChatGPT Accounts Behind Fake Think Tank Influence Campaign

*2026-08-26 06:01 UTC · AI · 1 min read*

> OpenAI banned a cluster of Russian-run ChatGPT accounts behind a fake think tank spreading pro-Kremlin narratives across Western social media.

OpenAI disrupted a covert Russian influence operation that used ChatGPT to build a fabricated think tank and spread pro-Kremlin narratives across Western social media. The operators accessed OpenAI's models through VPNs, prompting in Russian to generate English-language social media posts while instructing the model to strip out any linguistic markers of Russian origin.

The campaign centered on the "International Burke Institute," a fake Israeli-registered think tank set up in February 2025 that falsely listed prominent academics such as Francis Fukuyama and Noam Chomsky among its experts. OpenAI found that 34 of 36 articles credited to these experts were plagiarized from elsewhere online. The operation also produced a "sovereignty index" ranking countries to favor Russia while criticizing France, Germany and the United States, and distributed content via Substack, Telegram, X, Facebook and LinkedIn.

OpenAI assessed the campaign as a low-reach "Category Three" operation on the Brookings Breakout Scale, meaning it had limited but growing traction. The disclosure adds to a string of recent AI-platform takedowns of state-linked influence operations as generative tools make fabricated expert commentary cheaper to produce at scale.

## Sources

- [startuphub.ai](https://www.startuphub.ai/ai-news/artificial-intelligence/2026/openai-disrupts-russian-influence-ops)
- [caspianpost.com](https://caspianpost.com/economics/openai-blocks-russia-linked-chatgpt-accounts)

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TechTools News · https://techtools.cz/tools/news/article/2256-openai-bans-russian-chatgpt-accounts-behind-fake-think-tank-influence-campaign
Česká verze: https://techtools.cz/tools/news/clanek/2329-openai-zablokoval-ruske-ucty-chatgpt-stojici-za-falesnym-think-tankem-siricim