OpenAI Flags China-Linked Campaigns Using ChatGPT To Influence AI Policy Debate

OpenAI has identified two clusters of ChatGPT accounts, likely linked to China, that allegedly used artificial intelligence tools to support covert influence campaigns aimed at shaping discussions around American AI and broader technology policies.

The AI company stated that the operations generated social media content and images designed to influence public opinion on sensitive technology-related issues.

OpenAI said the campaigns attempted to insert themselves into legitimate policy debates while concealing their origins and intentions.

The first operation, which OpenAI named the ‘Data Centre Bandwagon’ campaign, created posts and visuals claiming that the rapid expansion of AI data centres was driving up electricity costs for ordinary households.

According to the company, the campaign sought to amplify existing concerns surrounding energy consumption and infrastructure growth.

The second operation, called the ‘Tech and Tariffs’ campaign, produced content criticising United States tariff policies and portraying them as efforts to dominate global technological competition.

OpenAI noted that prompts specifically instructed the model to exclude Chinese President Xi Jinping while featuring US President Donald Trump.

The company also linked this campaign to a network of suspected inauthentic social media accounts that circulated false claims alleging a compromise of ChatGPT user data.

OpenAI firmly rejected those allegations and described them as entirely untrue.

OpenAI emphasised that the significance of these activities lies not in their impact on public opinion but in their apparent attempt to test narratives surrounding AI infrastructure, a key pillar of American technological leadership and economic development.

The company said it found no evidence that the campaigns achieved meaningful influence beyond their own networks.

OpenAI added that it remains committed to helping governments, industry groups and civil society identify and counter foreign efforts that seek to manipulate public discourse, weaken democratic institutions and promote AI-enabled systems of surveillance, censorship and social control.