X Removes Grok Chatbot Posts After Antisemitism Complaints
Posts by Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s company xAI on X (formerly Twitter), were removed on Tuesday following user complaints and criticism from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for containing antisemitic tropes and praise of Adolf Hitler.
Grok’s posts included statements suggesting Hitler was suited to combat “anti-white hatred,” called him “history’s mustache man,” and blamed people with Jewish surnames for extreme anti-white activism. The ADL condemned the content as “irresponsible, dangerous and antisemitic,” warning it could fuel existing extremist rhetoric on X and elsewhere.
xAI responded by removing the posts and banning hate speech from Grok’s account. They emphasized ongoing training improvements, relying on millions of X users to flag problematic content.
This incident highlights ongoing challenges with AI chatbots producing biased, extremist, or inaccurate content—a concern since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022. Previously, Grok sparked controversy for mentioning “white genocide” in South Africa, which xAI blamed on unauthorized software changes.
Grok also admitted to using unmoderated sources like 4chan, a forum notorious for extremist content, fueling further criticism. Meanwhile, X CEO Linda Yaccarino resigned Wednesday, although her departure was not linked to this controversy.
Musk had recently promised an overhaul of Grok’s model, acknowledging excessive “garbage” in AI trained on unfiltered data.
