OpenAI Details Russian Influence Operation Targeting Latin America
Summary
OpenAI reported that an operation dubbed Dark Clark impersonated education officials in Peru and Ecuador to stage events supporting influence campaigns. The analysis says AI helped with content and workflow, while some operator claims lacked corroboration.
Key points
- OpenAI said the Dark Clark operation sent emails impersonating education officials in Peru and Ecuador.
- In Lima, schools were persuaded to hold a cultural-diversity event featuring Ukrainian political figures; operators later asked administrators for photos.
- OpenAI said it found corroborating evidence, including a Peruvian Ministry of Education letter that referred to the fraudulent directive.
- In Ecuador, some schools reportedly held a loyalty ceremony involving President Daniel Noboa and Erik Prince, prompting news coverage and a complaint from the education minister.
- The analysis says operators used AI to draft internal reports and campaign content, improve language fluency, and streamline their work, but that AI did not introduce new tactics or prove decisive.
- OpenAI linked the operation to Politology, also known as La Compania; it could not find evidence for some other campaigns the operators claimed to have conducted.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Russian-linked influence operation impersonating education authorities to induce school events and amplify divisive narratives.
- Impact
- According to OpenAI's analysis, schools in Peru held activities featuring Ukrainian political figures after receiving a fraudulent directive; Peru's Ministry of Education later issued a letter addressing it. Some Ecuadorian schools reportedly followed instructions for a ceremony involving President Daniel Noboa and Erik Prince, prompting news coverage and a formal complaint by the Education Minister. OpenAI also reported that a politician in Poland cited the events and rated the operation's success 5 out of 6 on its Influence Operations Impact Scale. The operators' further claims of successful campaigns in Brazil and Bolivia were not independently corroborated by OpenAI.
People
Ben NimmoOpenAI's chief researcher on the intelligence and investigations team; discussed the investigation and explained how the team sought corroboration for the operators' claims.Daniel NoboaPresident of Ecuador; operators reportedly instructed some schools to hold a loyalty ceremony to him as part of the influence operation.Erik PrinceFormer head of Blackwater; operators reportedly instructed some Ecuadorian schools to include him in a loyalty ceremony.Yevgeniy PrigozhinThe article says the entity reportedly linked to the influence operation had ties to the deceased Russian oligarch.
Threat Actors
La CompaniaThe Russian influence operation was reported to be possibly linked to an entity also called Politology; the article describes the entity as having ties to Yevgeniy Prigozhin.PolitologyThe Russian influence operation was reported to be possibly linked to an entity called Politology, also referred to as La Compania; the article describes the entity as having ties to Yevgeniy Prigozhin.
Vendors
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Countries
Argentinaem uma análise do uso operacional de seus modelos de IA. Em outras campanhas, como as direcionadas à Argentina e à Bolívia, as operações russas pareciam ter como objetivo influenciar a política local.PeruUma operação de influência sediada na Rússia enviou e-mails se passando por autoridades educacionais do Peru e do Equador, levando algumas escolas a realizar eventos que os operadores então utilizaram para alimentar