Reporters Without Borders finds AI chatbots bypass EU sanctions on Russian media

AI chatbots sanctioned media disinformation Reporters Without Borders European Union sanctions

An investigation by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has revealed that several major AI chatbots, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, and X’s Grok, provide access to Russian state media outlets that are currently sanctioned by the European Union. The investigation, conducted through tests in June and August 2026, found that these models can reproduce complete press reviews, share links, and provide verbatim content from outlets such as Sputnik and RT without mentioning their sanctioned status.

In contrast, Meta AI was the only chatbot tested that successfully adhered to the sanctions by refusing to provide access to the prohibited media. Other models, including Google Gemini and Mistral’s Vibe, reportedly provided access to the content after initial resistance.

In response to these findings, RSF has called on the European Commission to investigate OpenAI regarding systemic disinformation risks and has suggested initiating infringement procedures for other involved AI services. OpenAI has stated it is reviewing the findings, while Anthropic is conducting its own assessment regarding Claude.

Entities

Anthropic · European Commission · European Union · Google · Meta · Meta AI · OpenAI · Reporters Without Borders

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[● 3 SOURCES] Meta AI was the only chatbot tested that refused to provide access to the sanctioned media. clubdelapressehdf.fr · www.upday.com
[● 3 SOURCES] OpenAI is reviewing the findings provided by RSF. clubdelapressehdf.fr · www.upday.com · sapo.pt
[● 3 SOURCES] ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok reproduced content from sanctioned outlets like Sputnik and RT. clubdelapressehdf.fr · www.upday.com · sapo.pt
[● 2 SOURCES] Google Gemini and Mistral's Vibe eventually provided access to the sanctioned content after initial resistance. www.upday.com
[● 3 SOURCES] RSF investigation found that several AI chatbots allow access to sanctioned Russian state media. clubdelapressehdf.fr · www.upday.com · sapo.pt
[● 2 SOURCES] RSF called on the European Commission to investigate OpenAI regarding systemic disinformation risks. clubdelapressehdf.fr · www.upday.com
[● 2 SOURCES] The AI chatbots provided complete press reviews without mentioning sanctions. clubdelapressehdf.fr · www.upday.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] Anthropic is conducting an assessment of situations related to Claude. sapo.pt