USA Today Co. sues OpenAI for more than $250 million over ChatGPT training on its articles

OpenAI

USA Today Co. and several newspapers it owns sued OpenAI in federal court in Manhattan on October 8, 2026, alleging that hundreds of thousands of their articles were used without permission to train ChatGPT. The publishers want more than $250 million in damages and a court order barring the alleged use of their work. The claims are unproven, the court has not ruled, and OpenAI had not publicly responded when the report was published.

• Filed October 8, 2026, in federal court in Manhattan, against OpenAI.
• Plaintiffs are USA TODAY Co. and several newspapers it owns.
• Damages sought: more than $250 million, plus a court order to stop the alleged infringement.
• The complaint says hundreds of thousands of articles and other materials were copied to train ChatGPT without a license.
• Status: allegations only; no ruling yet and no public response from OpenAI at the time of reporting.