OpenAI has recently taken action against several Russian ChatGPT accounts, which were utilizing virtual private networks (VPNs) to circumvent access restrictions. These accounts were part of a broader influence operation that leveraged artificial intelligence to craft social media content. These posts and comments appeared on platforms such as Substack, Telegram, X, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
The accounts were tied to the International Burke Institute (IBI), a group that describes itself as an ‘expert community’ based in Israel. This development emerged from an investigation into AI-generated social media posts, which uncovered a complex influence campaign. The operation included a website filled with copied academic work, a ‘sovereignty’ index favoring Russia, and efforts to mask the operators’ Russian roots.
Details of the Influence Operation
The campaign reportedly had a limited reach, mainly through Telegram channels that gathered 10,000 to 20,000 followers each. The generated content was primarily in English, with ChatGPT instructed to eliminate linguistic markers that might reveal Russian origins. The IBI brand is linked to a website registered in February 2025, claiming to be a community of global experts in various fields.
While no direct evidence suggests that the site’s articles were generated by ChatGPT, many appear to be copied from academic sources, sometimes with incorrect attributions. Others seem to have been authored by a Slavic speaker and machine translated into English. A unique aspect of the campaign was the creation of a sovereignty index, promoted by IBI to cast Russia in a positive light while critiquing Western nations.
The Sovereignty Index
The IBI website details the Sovereignty Index, also known as the Burke Index, which is calculated using seven indicators of sovereignty: political, economic, technological, informational, cultural, cognitive, and military. Each area is scored up to 100 points based on official data and expert evaluations, culminating in a Cumulative Sovereignty Index ranging from 100 to 700 points.
The website’s reports rank the U.S. at the top with a score of 650.9, followed by China, Switzerland, and Russia. The report on Russia highlights its high level of sovereignty and self-sufficient military and economic status as of 2025, while also pointing out challenges such as demographic aging and innovation limitations.
Implications and Future Outlook
The influence operation extended beyond content creation, as one ChatGPT user crafted a profile picture for a Telegram channel named ‘American Observer’ and requested Russian-language summaries of its activities. OpenAI highlighted that the operation’s significance lies more in its infrastructure than its audience reach.
This case illustrates how influence actors can utilize AI to support broader operations, creating the appearance of credible institutions with expert-backed publications and proprietary indices. It underscores the potential for AI to obscure narrative sources and suggests a trend where such operations could expand over time. The exposure of this campaign also underscores the growing role of AI in cybersecurity and the need for vigilance in monitoring its use in influence operations.
