Exposing OpenAI's Secret Meme Army: A $125M Propaganda Network
From Taylor Lorenz’s Power User by Taylor Lorenz
June 10, 2026 · 21 min
About this episode
Taylor Lorenz investigates a network of pro-AI and anti-AI meme accounts funded by major tech organizations.
Exposing The Dark Money Machine Behind AI Propaganda SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at usermag.co Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz I break down my investigation into a network of pro-AI and anti-AI meme accounts that I found were secretly being run and funded by OpenAI, Palantir, and Andreessen Horowitz's big $125M super PAC and dark money group. I reveal how these accounts operated, who is connected to them, why they promoted both sides of the AI debate, and how the organization at the center of the story confirmed key aspects of the reporting after publication. I talk about how a self-described “Meme Lord” named Jason Levin, founder of Memelord Technologies was hired by the super PAC, Leading the Future, to create and run sock puppet accounts like “DoomersAreDumb” and “Jonathan Doomer” to attack AI critics, mock disabled people, post violent threats, and even pretend to be an anti-AI activist. OpenAI’s president Greg Brockman donated millions to this campaign. OpenAI’s head of strategy follows these meme accounts. And when confronted, Build American AI confirmed it all. Topics covered: AI propaganda and influence campaigns…
People in this episode
Host: Taylor Lorenz
Topics covered
- AI propaganda
- influence campaigns
- dark money groups
- super PACs
- fake activist accounts
- social media manipulation
- political lobbying
Keywords
- AI propaganda
- OpenAI
- dark money
- meme accounts
- influence operations
- political lobbying
- social media
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: OpenAI, Palantir, Andreessen Horowitz, Leading the Future, Build American AI, Memelord Technologies, DoomersAreDumb, Jonathan Doomer
Places: AI
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