OpenAI says China-linked campaign tried to sway data center debate

OpenAI said it banned likely China-based users after they used ChatGPT in an effort to undermine support for US data centers. Ben Nimmo, principal investigator on OpenAI's Intelligence and Investigations team, called it "a classic example of a foreign influence operation" that used fake accounts and posed as Americans to jump onto an existing domestic debate.

The company labelled the effort the "Data Center Bandwagon" Campaign and described it as small and brief, with most posts gaining little to no authentic engagement on X and Facebook. OpenAI said the operation sought to amplify concerns about energy prices and local impacts of data center development but found "no evidence of meaningful breakout beyond its own activity," and Nimmo added, "We didn't see any signs that they succeeded." OpenAI's report says the users were likely part of a social media operations team at a private Chinese technology company working for provincial-level government clients.

United States

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