OpenAI reports Israeli firm's attempt to influence Indian elections

OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman, in its report revealed that it had disrupted attempts to influence the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in India, the world’s largest democracy. 

The report highlights activities by an Israeli commercial company aimed at swaying the election results.

India is currently holding elections where the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies, known as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), are facing off against the Indian National Congress (INC) and other parties, collectively called the INDI alliance. 

The election results are expected to be announced on June 4.

“In May, we disrupted some activity focused on the Indian elections less than 24 hours after it began…the network began generating comments that focused on India, criticised the ruling BJP party and praised the opposition Congress party,” OpenAI said in its report.

These activities included generating comments critical of the ruling BJP and supportive of the opposition Congress party.

Government ministers responded quickly, condemning these actions as a threat to India's democracy. 

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, stated on X (formerly Twitter), "It is clear that the BJP was targeted by influence operations, misinformation, and foreign interference, conducted by or on behalf of certain Indian political parties." 

He emphasized the need for a thorough investigation and exposure of these activities.

Chandrasekhar also criticized the timing of OpenAI's disclosure, suggesting that such information should have been released earlier in the election process. "These platforms should have acted sooner, not so late in the election cycle," he added.

In addition to its activities in India, the Israeli company was also found to be posting pro-Israel and anti-Hamas content. 

“Open-source research in February described this network criticising the United Nations (UN) relief agency in Palestine, UNRWA…For-hire Israeli threat actor posting anti-Hamas, anti-Qatar, pro-Israel, anti-BJP, and pro-Histadrut content across the internet,” OpenAI’s report stated.