{
  "id": 13194282,
  "title": "OpenAI fires three safety researchers for \"mishandling research information\"",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/openai-fires-three-safety-researchers-for-mishandling-research",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-09T10:00:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hacker News Best",
    "slug": "hacker-news-best",
    "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/08/fired-openai-safety-researchers-dispute-misconduct-claims-warn-of-chilling-effect/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Three safety researchers at OpenAI were let go last week, according to an open letter they published denying their dismissal. Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak, and Mikita Balesni accused the company of firing them for violating policies and mishandling sensitive data. The researchers claim their termination marks a new culture within OpenAI that discourages workers from speaking up about safety concerns. They argue that fear and unclear guidelines are stifling AI safety work and weakening accountability through third-party audits. The letter also denies the researchers' involvement in a leak to The Information about specific model architectures. OpenAI has not responded to the open letter, but did share an internal memo supporting the researchers and denying they were fired for raising safety concerns.",
  "summary": "Later: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/09/openai-fired-researchers-ai-... Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50018350 Points: 255 # Comments: 163",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Business Insider",
        "title": "OpenAI says it didn’t fire 3 safety researchers for 'speaking out' on AI risks",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/openai-says-it-didnt-fire-3-safety-researchers-for-speaking-out-on-ai",
        "published": "2026-10-09T13:43:09.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Fortune",
        "title": "Controversy swirls over ‘abrupt’ firing of OpenAI safety team members involved in the Hugging Face hack investigation",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/controversy-swirls-over-abrupt-firing-of-openai-safety-team-members",
        "published": "2026-10-09T17:21:41.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}