Chinese propagandists stoking dissent over Trump tariffs and data centres, OpenAI says

Chinese propagandists have been trying to ⁠use OpenAI’s flagship chatbot ⁠to gin up opposition to Donald Trump’s ⁠tariffs and intervene in American debates over data centres and AI, OpenAI said in a report published on Wednesday.The company said its efforts, dating to late 2025 and early 2026, appeared to have had little or no effect, but it is another indication of ‌how central generative AI is becoming in digital influence campaigns – even those aimed against AI companies themselves.The Chinese embassy in Washington said that while it was not familiar with OpenAI’s research, “we firmly oppose any groundless attacks or smears against China” and that Beijing was working to “ensure AI is a force for good and for all”.OpenAI said it caught one set of Chinese-speaking users using ChatGPT to ⁠come up with slogans and cartoons critiquing Trump’s trade and tech policy that were later posted to X. ‌The cartoons featured Trump behaving disruptively on the global stage, for example by swinging a hammer at a wall labelled “Global Future” or sawing apart a ladder he ‌was standing on.Protesters gather at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City in May to oppose the construction of a data centre. Photo: AFPThe same group also used the platform to generate Chinese comments for use ⁠in the comment ⁠sections of Chinese-language articles, as well as content in Italian and Japanese.