We just launched a YouTube channel. Our first video follows our investigation into AcutusWire, the fake news site using bots as reporters that was being funded by Leading the Future. Watch the full video here: youtu.be/2kcmP5leoLs

We Caught OpenAI’s Super PAC Funding a Bot-Run Fake Newsroom

YouTube video by Midas Project

youtu.be

A few months ago, I found an anonymous sockpuppet account linked to the OpenAI/a16z super PAC. Now, @taylorlorenz.bsky.social and I have uncovered two more — and they're even more brazen than the first.

The Midas Project@themidasproject.bsky.social · 2mo ago

New: Leading the Future, the pro-AI super PAC backed by OpenAI President Greg Brockman, appears to be linked to multiple sockpuppet accounts, including a false flag anti-AI activist Our latest for Model Republic with @taylorlorenz.bsky.social modelrepublic.substack.com/p/a-pro-ai-s...

New: Leading the Future, the pro-AI super PAC backed by OpenAI President Greg Brockman, appears to be linked to multiple sockpuppet accounts, including a false flag anti-AI activist Our latest for Model Republic with @taylorlorenz.bsky.social modelrepublic.substack.com/p/a-pro-ai-s...

A Pro-AI Super PAC's Secret Meme Sockpuppets

An OpenAI/a16z-affiliated super PAC appears to be linked to multiple sockpuppet accounts, attacking and parodying their opponents with lewd and offensive memes.

modelrepublic.substack.com

SpaceX is about to go public, and inside it now is xAI, a frontier AI lab that ranks behind its peers in every major published assessment of AI safety practices. What does that mean for investors? Our new report with Guidelight AI Standards, Encode, and LASST is out today.

From @tylerjohnston.bsky.social: "... the more interesting question we can ask about Anthropic’s AI-generated training data disclosure is not “was it AI-generated?” but rather “is it slop?” substack.com/home/post/p-...

Why is Anthropic’s training data disclosure AI-generated?

Anthropic and its peers don’t seem to be taking California’s data transparency law seriously.

substack.com

@tylerjohnston.bsky.social for Model Republic: www.modelrepublic.org/articles/the...

I wasn't too shocked when an anon reply guy started pestering me + other orgs/journalists on X. Normally I’d ignore it, but I looked closer when they began running paid ads. I did not expect to trace the account back to OpenAI’s political machine! My latest for @themidasproject.bsky.social

The Midas Project@themidasproject.bsky.social · 4mo ago

An anonymous account spent months attacking OpenAI’s critics with misleading claims and paid ads. We found links to Targeted Victory, the firm at the center of OpenAI's $125 million political operation. www.modelrepublic.org/articles/is-...

An anonymous account spent months attacking OpenAI’s critics with misleading claims and paid ads. We found links to Targeted Victory, the firm at the center of OpenAI's $125 million political operation. www.modelrepublic.org/articles/is-...

Is this OpenAI’s anonymous Twitter sockpuppet account? - Model Republic

An anonymous account spent months attacking OpenAI’s critics with misleading claims and paid ads. We found links to Targeted Victory, the firm at the center of OpenAI's $125 million political operatio...

modelrepublic.org

When California passed a law requiring AI companies to follow their safety frameworks, Anthropic had a choice to make. Instead of making their strict, voluntary rules legally binding (as they had indicated they wanted), the company wrote a second, weaker rulebook in its place.

Over at @safetychanges.bsky.social, we just released an analysis of Anthropic’s recent, quiet change to their Frontier Compliance Framework. But a more interesting story (which many missed) is the fact that this policy exists at all — and how it minimizes liability for the company. 🧵

The Midas Project Watchtower@safetychanges.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Company: Anthropic Date: March 2nd You probably didn’t notice, but a few weeks ago, Anthropic quietly updated its legally binding safety framework, the Frontier Compliance Framework (FCF). We took a look at what changed. 🧵

Elon Musk spent a decade warning the world about killer robots and AI surveillance, including in a 2017 open letter: "We do not have long to act. Once this Pandora's box is opened, it will be hard to close." Now he’s the one opening it. 🧵

If you saw MAGA influencers raging over a data center bill yesterday, you were probably looking at (another) paid astroturf. We've documented this happening twice in two months, with nearly identical messaging and posts timed to hit just before key votes. Who is funding it? 🧵

The Midas Project@themidasproject.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Something strange happened on conservative Twitter on Thursday. A dozen right-wing influencers suddenly became passionate about semiconductor export policy, posting nearly identical (and often false) attacks over a 27-hour period on a bill most people have never heard of. 🧵

Great to see OpenAI adopting a new whistleblower policy which, while flawed in important ways, nonetheless puts the company ahead of its peers on this issue. The industry still has a long way to go, but this is a step in the right direction.

The Information@theinformation.com · 6mo ago

OpenAI updated its whistleblower protections after past scrutiny over employee non-disparagement agreements tied to vested equity. https://thein.fo/49XWWgH

Last August, alongside @consumerfed.bsky.social and others, we warned that xAI hadn't done enough to prevent non-consensual sexual deepfakes. Now the EU has announced its investigation into the company. Good to see regulators taking this seriously.

European Commission@ec.europa.eu · 6mo ago

We are opening an investigation into Grok because we believe that X may have breached the DSA. We have seen antisemitic content, non-consensual deepfakes of women, and child sexual abuse material. In Europe, no company will make money by violating our fundamental rights. link.europa.eu/Fh8h84

Something strange happened on conservative Twitter on Thursday. A dozen right-wing influencers suddenly became passionate about semiconductor export policy, posting nearly identical (and often false) attacks over a 27-hour period on a bill most people have never heard of. 🧵

OpenAI once said its nonprofit would be entitled to "the vast majority" and "all but a fraction" of the wealth it generates. Now, in their new restructuring, they are saying it will be entitled to only 20%. (~$100b out of a $500b valuation). From "Nearly all" to "one fifth" 🙄

NEW: @consumerfed.bsky.social along with 14 other advocacy groups is urging investigation into Elon Musk's xAI for their tool facilitating creation and distribution of Non Consensual Intimate Imagery. Coverage @theverge.com: www.theverge.com/x-ai/759554/... Letter consumerfed.org/wp-content/u...

🚨 Breaking: A group of 100+ Nobel laureates, professors, whistleblowers, public figures, artists, and nonprofit organizations just released a letter asking OpenAI to tell the truth about its restructuring. Here’s what they had to say: 🧵

I'm a signatory to this open letter calling for OpenAI to offer the world greater transparency concerning its upcoming restructuring. www.openai-transparency.org

The ‘OpenAI Files’ will help you understand how Sam Altman’s company works www.theverge.com/openai/68878...

The ‘OpenAI Files’ will help you understand how Sam Altman’s company works

It has charts and data visualizations, including the authors’ best guess at OpenAI’s corporate structure.

theverge.com

Google: Since 2018, Google’s AI Principles have served as a living constitution, keeping us motivated by a common purpose. Also Google: 🙄

The Midas Project Watchtower@safetychanges.bsky.social · last yr.

Date: Feb 26 - March 6, 2025 Company: Google Change: Scrubbed mentions of diversity and equity from the mission description of their Responsible AI team.

Company: @anthropic.com Date: February 27th, 2025 Change: Removed "White House's Voluntary Commitments for Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy AI," seemingly without a trace, from their webpage "Transparency Hub" (formerly "Tracking Voluntary Commitments") Some thoughts in 🧵

We may only have a few years to prepare for AI that transforms society on a massive scale. If Big Tech wants to prove that they are capable of shouldering this responsibility, they need to be far more proactive about safety and responsibility. www.themidasproject.com/articles/202...

AI Developers Are Bungling Their Dress Rehearsal • The Midas Project

Here’s a sobering fact: artificial intelligence today is the worst it will ever be. From here on out, AI will only become more and more capable — and dangerous. All the top AI developers know this. Op...

themidasproject.com