Question 1

What was the International Burke Institute?

Accepted Answer

It was a website, registered in February 2025, that presented itself as an Israel-based "expert community" and claimed contributors including Francis Fukuyama and Noam Chomsky, though OpenAI found 34 of 36 sampled articles were copied from other sources.

Question 2

Why did the operators use VPNs?

Accepted Answer

OpenAI does not allow access to its models from Russia, so the operators used VPNs to reach ChatGPT and generate content while hiding their location, according to the company's report.

Question 3

How is this different from other Russia-linked operations OpenAI has caught?

Accepted Answer

OpenAI said the campaign's elaborate construction, especially its fabricated "sovereignty index" praising Russia and criticizing Western countries, set it apart from other Russia-linked influence operations it has disrupted since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Substack

OpenAI bans Russia-linked ChatGPT accounts pushing a fake think tank

One sharp brief.
Every day.

Substack

OpenAI bans Russia-linked ChatGPT accounts pushing a fake think tank

One sharp brief.Every day.

One sharp brief.
Every day.