The leader of a notorious neo-Nazi group used ChatGPT to inquire about attacking the power grid, an intelligence briefing obtained by the Daily Dot states.
The briefing, sent out by the New York Police Department (NYPD) Intelligence & Counterterrorism Bureau on March 24, 2023, details messages allegedly sent by Rinaldo Nazzaro, the founder of the white supremacist and accelerationist paramilitary group known as “The Base.”
The information—credited to SITE Intelligence Group, a non-governmental organization that tracks white supremacists and jihadists online—was obtained by the Daily Dot via a FOIA request related to ChatGPT.
The discussion with ChatGPT from Nazzaro, who is also known online as Roman Wolf and Norman Spear, centered around how to create a “power vacuum” in the U.S. ChatGPT, according to the briefing, responded by outlining “a combination of tactics.”
“These tactics could include sabotage, targeted assassinations, and other forms of violence to disrupt the existing power structure,” ChatGPT replied.
The chatbot expanded on the use of guerrilla warfare by further mentioning tactics such as “ambushes” and “raids” to “disrupt the enemy’s operations and to weaken their will to fight.”
ChatGPT also stressed the importance of gaining a local public’s trust when attempting to win a guerrilla war. Nazzaro, who according to SITE shared screenshots of his inquires with followers, also asked the chatbot “What critical infrastructure” in the US “is most vulnerable to a physical attack?”
ChatGPT responded by pointing to the electrical grid, describing it as the most vulnerable due to its status as “the backbone of the nation’s economy” before listing specific types of attacks.
The intelligence briefing further noted that the chatbot suggested the use of propaganda and psychological warfare “to weaken the public’s trust in the government and create a sense of chaos and uncertainty.” Economic warfare, specifically “to disrupt the local economy,” was emphasized.
The briefing did not state where Nazzaro posted the screenshots of his conversation with ChatGPT, although the neo-Nazi leader was known to use Telegram in the past.
Cassie Miller, a senior research analyst with the Southern Poverty Law Center who monitors far-right groups, noted that Nazzaro’s actions with ChatGPT are in line with his previous rhetoric.
“He has used his time in the white power movement to push the idea that the country will inevitably collapse, and that the role of the movement is to accelerate that collapse through violence and attacks on infrastructure,” Miller told the Daily Dot.
The day after sharing the screenshots, Nazzaro encouraged such attacks by sharing an article detailing how the FBI had not yet identified those responsible for attacks on electrical substations in Washington, Oregon, and North Carolina that began the year prior.
“He emphasized that the attacks on electrical substations must have an ideological component to be considered successful and have a psychological impact,” the briefing said.
Two men were later arrested and charged for the attack in Washington, although police determined the power outage was caused by the pair to carry out a burglary.
In February 2023, the FBI foiled efforts by two neo-Nazi extremists to attack power substations in Maryland. The pair’s reported aim was to cause widespread chaos and further their white supremacist agenda.
This isn’t the first time white supremacists have eyed harnessing technology in pursuit of their aims. An April 2023 intelligence briefing obtained by the Daily Dot last year revealed that white supremacists were looking at utilizing the Flipper Zero hacking tool, stirring concern among law enforcement.
Nazzaro, a former Pentagon analyst, founded The Base in late 2018, around the same time that he relocated to Russia. The FBI and international law enforcement have arrested numerous members of the terror group in the U.S. and Europe in recent years.
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