The Chinese startup DeepSeek has warned the public to beware of counterfeit accounts and disinformation about its artificial intelligence(AI) chatbot service.

According to Chinese media outlets on Friday, DeepSeek issued the warning in a statement released on its WeChat account Thursday night. 

In the statement, the Chinese startup said that recently some counterfeit accounts and unsubstantiated information related to DeepSeek have emerged, misleading and confusing the public.

DeepSeek said it is clarifying issues related to the official DeepSeek accounts to protect user rights and reduce the negative impact of the false information.

It also said DeepSeek currently has only one official account on WeChat, one on Xiaohongshu and one on X.

The statement emphasized that any other accounts claiming to release information on behalf of DeepSeek are counterfeit.

The statement comes as major countries have blocked access to the new AI chatbot due to security concerns.