New Delhi/New York: OpenAI, an artificial intelligence startup, revealed in a recent report that it thwarted a clandestine influence operation employing its model to produce anti-BJP and pro-Congress content.
The content, including web articles and comments, reportedly originated from STOIC, an Israeli political campaign management firm. STOIC disseminated spam content across various platforms including X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, websites, and YouTube.
According to OpenAI’s report titled “Disrupting deceptive uses of AI by covert influence operations”, the operation’s fake accounts engaged in commenting on its own social media posts to fabricate audience engagement.
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Dubbed “Zero Zeno”, in homage to the founder of the stoic school of philosophy and due to its minimal engagement levels, the operation generated politically charged content promoting anti-Hamas, anti-Qatar, pro-Israel, anti-BJP, and pro-Histadrut narratives.
In early May, Zero Zeno pivoted its focus to India, producing English-language content critical of the ruling BJP party while lauding the opposition Congress party. This marked the operation’s foray into Indian political discourse with the aim to sway public opinion.
Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Information, reacted to the findings on X, denouncing it as a “very dangerous threat to our democracy”. He emphasized that “@BJP4India was and is the target of influence operations, misinformation, and foreign interference.”
Previous investigations uncovered Zero Zeno’s involvement in various geopolitical issues. From criticizing the UN relief agency in Palestine in February to targeting Canada over “radical Islamists” in March, the operation exhibited a broad scope. It also aimed at American universities, accusing pro-Palestinian protesters of antisemitism and terrorism, and censured Qatar’s investments in the US as detrimental to American values. Moreover, Hebrew-language posts praised the Histadrut trade unions and their leadership.
The report noted OpenAI’s efforts to disrupt similar operations originating from China, Russia, and Iran.
Despite their efforts to incite uproar, OpenAI stated that these campaigns “do not appear to have meaningfully increased their audience engagement or reach as a result of our services.”
