Inside OpenAI’s ‘election war room’ and AI's impact on the midterms

Tech giants including OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Google have established "election war rooms" to combat misinformation during the 2026 US midterm elections. This is a first for companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, which are now monitoring not just text but also deepfakes and cyberattacks that can be launched through AI-generated prompts. The move follows concerns raised about the proliferation of election-related disinformation in the era of advanced AI, with OpenAI setting up a dedicated team of over a dozen people to work around-the-clock from its San Francisco office. Former Meta director Katie Harbath emphasized that war rooms are designed to address unpredictable threats and quickly mitigate any misuse of platforms. Lauren Protentis, a former government official, warned that AI is making such disinformation more potent and believable.