The International Burke Institute (IBI) is a self-described "expert community" that claims to be an Israeli-based think tank founded in 2025. In 2026, OpenAI announced the think tank was promoted as part of a Russian influence operation.
History
2026 investigation On 25 August 2026, OpenAI published the results of an investigation, writing it had banned a cluster of Russian origin ChatGPT accounts being used to promote the International Burke Institute. The investigation reported the website contained plagiarized and mistattributed academic work, a "sovereignty" index used to portray Russia favorably, and attempts to conceal the operators' Russian-based origins.
IBI subsequently criticized the claims, writing in a statement that "The Burke International Institute (IBI) strongly rejects the claims made in an August 25, 2026, publication by Le Monde that portrays the Institute as a 'real-fake Israeli think tank' and implicitly links it to foreign information operations."
See also
Propaganda in Russia Russian disinformation
References