CLAIM-2026-09-15-01

404 Media reported on 14 September 2026 that OpenAI is hiring hundreds of contractors, recruited through Crossing Hurdles and paid by Mercor, to read real ChatGPT prompts and rate four candidate responses under an internal programme called Project Lily.

Why it matters

The named recruiting chain is what turns 'OpenAI uses your data' into a concrete set of third parties. A DPA question about sub-processors needs names, not a category.

Sources

• media2026inside