Truth Check/2 October 2026

“The FTC has opened an investigation into OpenAI and Anthropic”

The claim as it travelled: New York Post, then CNBC/CBS/ABC/Axios/Reuters, 30 Sept 2026.

An FTC spokesperson confirmed the investigation to CNBC, CBS and Axios on 30 September; nothing is published and no demand has been served, so it holds on the agency's word alone.

Checked Against

cnbc.com ↗Attributed

What the Source Says

An FTC spokesperson confirmed the investigation to CNBC, CBS News and Axios on 30 September; a senior official to ABC News; an official to Reuters. CBS: first opened this summer; information requests planned to the companies and METR; civil investigative demands being drafted (per the New York Post). The FTC's own press-release page carries nothing on it as of 2 October; OpenAI's Chris Lehane said on 1 October the company has heard nothing beyond public reports.

The Difference

The claim holds on the agency's word to reporters. Nothing is published and no demand has been served or acknowledged; the 'rogue AI probe' framing and the timing are the reporters', with the Washington Times reporting it began before the July Hugging Face incident. Verdict: holds, on the record so far a phone call.

Read the Check

Google's new frontier model costs $2 in, $10 out - OpenAI's price - and only cyber defenders can use it

Gemini 4 Argon's price, scores and release terms against Google's own page; "the FTC has opened an investigation into OpenAI and Anthropic" against what the agency has actually put on the record; and the impossible-task test to run on any agent before it gets your logins.

Every claim we have checked, in the Ledger.