OpenAI has released a new report on attackers attempting to misuse its AI models, including the Russian media organization Rybar, which was exposed during Operation Fish Food.
OpenAI has released a new report on attackers attempting to misuse its AI models, including the Russian media organization Rybar, which was exposed during Operation Fish Food.
«We have blocked a number of ChatGPT accounts associated with the Rybar network… The network generated content that was published online, sometimes by Rybar-branded accounts, and sometimes by social media accounts that had no official connection to it,» says an OpenAI report on the operation, which the company called «Fish Food».
They found that the Russians used AI mainly to create content for social media.
«Users typically write in Russian, but create content in a variety of languages, including Russian, English, and Spanish. Part
This content was then published on the Internet on social media pages.
networks under the Rybar brand and on the main Rybar website. One user also created Sora videos promoting the Rybar brand,» the study states.
ChatGPT was also used to generate comments in English, which were then posted on social media accounts purporting to be unrelated to Rybar.
Cybersecurity researchers note that one of the accounts on the network asked ChatGPT to help draft business plans on behalf of «The Fisherman» for covert interference campaigns in Africa. In a separate request, the model was asked to edit a proposal for an election interference campaign, likely in Africa.
The prompt covered both on-the-ground and online activities, such as building a network of local agents and organizing large-scale events. The third prompt was for an information campaign focused on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Further prompts addressed the electoral process in Burundi and Cameroon, and suggested campaign options for Madagascar, including the idea of inciting protests on the ground.
The estimated annual budget of the most ambitious project was up to $600,000.
«The content generated by this operation was typical of Russia’s covert influence operations over the years. It typically praised Russia and its allies (such as Belarus), criticized Ukraine, and accused Western countries of foreign interference,» OpenAI researchers concluded.
Recall that in 2024 , the United States announced a reward of up to $10 million for information about the Russian project «Fisherman». The State Department noted that the media outlet was previously financed by the owner of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Subsequently, «Fisherman» began to receive funding from the Russian defense-industrial organization «Rostec», which is under US sanctions.
