THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 3:30 PM CEST
Openai Deactivates Chatgpt Accounts Linked To Iranian Disinformation Operation
OpenAI said Friday it deactivated a cluster of ChatGPT accounts this week that were using the AI chatbot to craft fake news articles and social media comments as part of an Iranian disinformation campaign.
Why it matters: Nation-state adversaries have already shown a vested interest in disrupting the 2024 U.S. elections — and experts fear AI tools like ChatGPT could speed up their ability to craft disinformation.
- This is the first operation OpenAI has spotted and removed that focuses on the U.S. elections.
State of play: OpenAI identified, removed, and banned an unspecified number of ChatGPT accounts this week that were using the tool to create content about the U.S. presidential elections and other topics.
UPDATE: 7:00 AM CEST
Nurses Continue Their Strikes and Protests as The Regime Ignores Their Demands
Nurses in cities across Iran have been on strike for 10 days, demanding higher wages and better working conditions. Videos posted on social media show nurses continuing these protests in different cities, including several hospitals in Mashhad, Jahrom, and Yasuj. Protesters were chanting slogans such as, “We will not go anywhere until we get our rights!” In previous similar protests were held in dozens of cities.
These protests continue under circumstances where, according to reports, striking nurses have been “threatened with dismissal and the formation of security cases through numerous calls from security forces.”
According to reports, it has been more than 10 days since the start of the nurses’ strikes in several cities, particularly in Shiraz, and the scope of these strikes is expanding daily.
Iran’s Economic Challenges: A Bleak Outlook for Employment and Prosperity
In a recent report published by Etemad newspaper on August 17, Hassan Taei, the former vice president of development, entrepreneurship, and employment at Iran’s Ministry of Labor, painted a concerning picture of Iran’s economic future. His insights shed light on the significant challenges facing the country’s job market and overall prosperity. Taei emphasized that for Iran to achieve a relatively prosperous society, its labor force would need to more than double, increasing from the current 26 million to 55 million people. However, he described this goal as “impossible” given the country’s economic stagnation since 2004.
“An economy that hasn’t managed to grow by an average of 1 percent since 2004 cannot create a million job opportunities,” Taei stated. He explained that creating a million jobs would require generating 300 new positions daily, a feat he deems unfeasible for Iran’s current economic situation.
Iranian Nurses’ Exodus: A Crisis in Healthcare
Iran’s healthcare system is facing a critical challenge as nurses across the country engage in strikes and protests, demanding better working conditions and fair compensation. The ongoing demonstrations, which began on August 5 and continued until August 17, highlight the deep-rooted issues plaguing the nursing profession in Iran. For months, nurses have been voicing their concerns over their legal status and inadequate nursing tariffs. The situation has become so dire that thousands of nurses are leaving Iran annually, prompting authorities to warn of potential patient fatalities due to severe staffing shortages.
The grievances of Iranian nurses are multifaceted. They protest against extended work shifts, low salaries, and mandatory overtime. These challenging conditions have contributed to a significant brain drain in Iran’s healthcare sector, with the country struggling to retain skilled medical professionals.
Four Male Prisoners and Two Female Prisoners Were Secretly Executed at The Central Prison in Qazvin
According to reports received by the Iran Human Rights Monitor (Iran HRM), six prisoners were secretly executed at the central prison in Qazvin in August 2024. The exact date of the executions is under investigation. According to a reliable source, six prisoners were executed in the current calendar month at the central prison in Qazvin, with the identities of four of them confirmed. The identities of the male prisoners: Vahid Ebrahimzadeh, Vahid Soltanabadi, Amir Hossein Bagherieh, and Hamid Behmazek have been verified by this source. The identities of the two female prisoners have not been confirmed at the time of this news release and are under investigation.
MEK Supporters Rally at UN Geneva to Protest Executions, Honor 1988 Massacre Martyrs, and Commemorate Reza Rasaei
Geneva, Switzerland—August 16, 2024: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran(PMOI/MEK) organized a rally in front of the UN headquarters to protest the increasing wave of executions carried out by the Iranian regime. They also called for the immediate release of all political prisoners held in the prisons of the mullahs’ regime in Iran and expressed their solidarity with the Iranian Revolution.