SUMMARYOpenAI’s June 2026 threat report identified two China-origin influence clusters that used ChatGPT for covert campaigns aimed at U.S. AI and tech debates, including claims about data center electricity costs and attacks on U.S. tech and tariff policy. The accounts were banned, and OpenAI said the activity did not spread meaningfully beyond the operators themselves. The body also connects the activity to earlier OpenAI findings, NPR coverage, and Graphika’s tracking of PRC-linked Spamouflage operations.
This is a well documented.
The best evidence is OpenAI’s June 2026 threat report. ***It says two China-origin clusters used ChatGPT for covert influence operations: “Data Center Bandwagon,” pushing claims that AI data centers raise household electricity prices, and “Tech and Tariffs,” attacking U.S. tech/tariff policy while avoiding criticism of Xi Jinping and spreading false claims about compromised ChatGPT user data.*** OpenAI said these accounts were banned and that the campaigns showed narrative testing against U.S. AI infrastructure, though they found no meaningful breakout beyond the operators’ own activity. Check the linked article and [OpenAI PDF](https://cdn.openai.com/pdf/96b559fa-c165-4575-805d-e636909e2f78/June-2026-Threat-Report.pdf)
This fits a broader pattern. OpenAI’s June 2025 report and NPR’s coverage described multiple China-linked covert operations using ChatGPT for influence content, social engineering, surveillance-adjacent work, and fake engagement across platforms. [OpenAI June 2025 report](https://openai.com/global-affairs/disrupting-malicious-uses-of-ai-june-2025/), [NPR](https://www.npr.org/2025/06/05/nx-s1-5423607/openai-china-influence-operations)
Independent OSINT also supports the broader PRC influence-operation pattern. Graphika has tracked Spamouflage, a Chinese state-linked operation using fake/hijacked accounts and U.S.-persona tactics to push divisive narratives. [Graphika](https://www.graphika.com/reports/chinese-state-influence)
I predict that their next move would be to mass down vote my post and this thread as well as mass reporting in an attempt to quiet down the narrative.