Ervin B. Hoskins, an American freelance journalist, has penned dozens of articles critical of the US war with Iran in recent months.

Published in smaller US media outlets, his provocative articles cast the United States as the aggressor in the ongoing seven-month war, portrayed Israel as an untrustworthy ally, and framed Iran as a defiant underdog.

But Hoskins, it turns out, is not an American reporter. In fact, he doesn't even exist.

Hoskins was among seven fake journalist personas, all purporting to be from the West, that Iranian operatives used to plant articles in media outlets across the world, including the United States.

That is according to OpenAI, which said in anOctober 8 reportthat it had shut down an influence operation from Iran that used ChatGPT to secretly push anti-American propaganda.

"We identified almost 100 articles published or syndicated under the operation's bylines across roughly a dozen online outlets around the world," OpenAI said.

"These were small to medium outlets, generally focused on international affairs, geopolitics, and events in the Middle East."

The company said it banned ChatGPT accounts that used the model to generate articles and story pitches and create social media comments.

The Iranian operation has underlined how widely available AI systems can be exploited to disseminate increasingly sophisticated propaganda targeting a country's adversaries at an unprecedented scale.

SEE ALSO:

Anthropic Disrupts Iran's Use Of Claude To Spread Propaganda, Spy On Dissidents

Provocative Articles

Among the articles attributed to Hoskins was one titled "Jared Kushner and the Privatization of America's Iran Strategy," published on June 12 byPeaceVoice, a public intellectual op-ed and media distribution service that is run by the Oregon Peace Institute.

Over the next few days, the same article was republished under similar headlines byCounterPunch, an American left-wing online magazine, andLA Progressive, which describes itself as an "independent, justice-driven publication" based in Los Angeles.

The personal financial interests of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and special envoy, his diplomatic activities, and potential conflicts of interest have been covered by the mainstream US media, including an investigation byThe New Yorker.

But the article that appeared on PeaceVoice, CounterPunch, and LA Progressive -- while noting that Kushner has defended his business dealings and says the allegations do not prove corruption -- is largely one-sided and gives little space to Kushner's defense.

The article links Kushner's financial ties to possible conflicts of interest and suggests they influence US policy toward Iran, but it does not provide any clear evidence.

It also overlooks other reasons for US policy on Iran, including concerns over Tehran's nuclear program and longstanding US ties with key allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The article also uses terms like "privatization" that reveal its biased editorial stance.