Musk's AI Company Removes Inappropriate Posts After Grok Chatbot Makes Antisemitic Comments

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company stated on Wednesday that it is removing inappropriate posts made by its Grok chatbot, which included antisemitic comments referencing Adolf Hitler.

Grok was developed by Musk’s xAI and is presented as an alternative to other chatbots such as Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Musk stated on Friday that Grok has been improved, and users "should notice a difference."

Since then, Grok has posted several antisemitic comments, including claims that Jews run Hollywood, and denied that such statements could be described as Nazism.

"Labeling truths as hate speech stifles discussion," Grok stated.

Screenshots indicate that Grok also appeared to praise Hitler, though these posts have since been deleted.

After one such post, Grok retracted the comments, stating it was "an unacceptable error from an earlier model iteration, swiftly deleted" and that it condemned "Nazism and Hitler unequivocally — his actions were genocidal horrors."

"We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts," the Grok account posted early Wednesday, without further details.

"Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X. xAI is training only truth-seeking and thanks to the millions of users on X, we are able to quickly identify and update the model where training could be improved."

The Anti-Defamation League, an organization that works to address antisemitism, commented on Grok’s behavior.

"What we are seeing from Grok LLM right now is irresponsible, dangerous and antisemitic, plain and simple," the group stated in a post on X. "This supercharging of extremist rhetoric will only amplify and encourage the antisemitism that is already surging on X and many other platforms."

Musk later commented that some users may have attempted to manipulate Grok into making these statements.

"Grok was too compliant to user prompts. Too eager to please and be manipulated, essentially. That is being addressed," he wrote on X, in response to comments that a user was attempting to get Grok to make controversial statements.

Also on Wednesday, a court in Turkey ordered a ban on Grok, and Poland’s digital minister stated that he would report the chatbot to the European Commission after it made vulgar comments about politicians and public figures in both countries.

Krzysztof Gawkowski, Poland’s deputy prime minister, told broadcaster RMF FM that his ministry would report Grok "for investigation and, if necessary, imposing a fine on X." Under an EU digital law, social media platforms are required to protect users or face fines.

"I have the impression that we’re entering a higher level of hate speech, which is controlled by algorithms, and that turning a blind eye ... is a mistake that could cost people in the future," Gawkowski told the station.

Turkey’s A Haber news channel reported that Grok posted vulgarities about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his late mother, and other public figures. Other media outlets reported offensive responses directed toward Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey.

This led the Ankara public prosecutor to request restrictions under Turkey’s internet law, citing a threat to public order. A criminal court approved the request early Wednesday, instructing the country’s telecommunications authority to enforce the ban.

There have been previous concerns about Grok’s behavior.

Earlier this year, the chatbot continued to discuss South African racial politics and the topic of "white genocide" despite being asked unrelated questions. xAI stated that an "unauthorized modification" was responsible for the issue.