China-based operatives used ChatGPT to shape AI data centers and tariff debates (axios.com)

OpenAI has banned China-linked accounts that used ChatGPT to draft social media influence campaigns targeting U.S. debates over tariffs and AI data centers, the company said Wednesday. Why it matters: The campaigns don't appear to have been effective, but they show how pro-China actors are testing AI tools to amplify existing political and economic divisions in the U.S. Driving the news: OpenAI said it uncovered two operations that used ChatGPT to generate posts, comments and political cartoons about U.S. tech policy. One campaign, dubbed "Data Center Bandwagon," generated comments and comics claiming AI data centers were driving up electricity prices for American families. A second operation, "Tech and Tariffs," used ChatGPT to create content and political cartoons criticizing Trump's tariffs and the U.S. push for global tech dominance. The big picture: Both campaigns latched onto already-heated debates. A recent Harvard/MIT poll found 32% of Americans oppose data centers in their area, while 40% support them. Seven in 10 Americans said in a Harris poll released in March that Trump's tariffs have caused them to pay higher prices. "This was not a case of an influence operation creating a debate," Ben Nimmo, principal investigator on OpenAI's intelligence and investigations team, told reporters. "The debate existed already. This was an influence operation from China trying to interfere in it." Reality check: OpenAI said the campaigns failed to gain much online traction. However, an OpenAI official told reporters that this appears to be the first time the company has seen a China-linked operation using its models to meddle in the AI data center debate. Zoom in: In the data center campaign, users OpenAI believes were linked to a Chinese government contractor asked ChatGPT to create comic strips about power grid capacity and electricity prices. The images were later posted to X via likely inauthentic accounts, alongside links to legitimate news stories about data center power demand. A separate group, which OpenAI could not directly attribute, used ChatGPT to create political cartoons of President Trump that criticized U.S. tech and tariff policies. In one cartoon, Trump is depicted wearing American flag pants that say "America First" while holding a mallet with the words "Tech Dominance" on them and swinging it into a wall that reads "Global Future." The bottom line: OpenAI says the campaigns are an early sign of how foreign influence operators may use AI tools to scale content around U.S. political flashpoints. Go deeper : Foreign disinformation enters AI-powered era