Grok is integrated in X, the social media platform of Elon Musk. Users can ask questions by entering @Grok, after which the chatbot answers. Since last few days, messages and screenshots have been circulating on the platform in which Grok praises Adolf Hitler, among others.
For example, the chatbot mentions Hitler as an answer to the question ‘who could best recognize anti-white hatred and resolutely would pay it’. Grok also says that people with Jewish surnames would be responsible for ‘extremely anti-white activism’.
Elon Musk © AFP
‘Anti-Woke’
The team behind Grok shares the following statement: “We are aware of recent messages from Grok and are actively working on removing the inappropriate messages. After Xai was informed, measures have been taken to stop hate -sowing messages.”
Exactly how grok is trained is still unclear. According to Musk, the chatbot uses ‘publicly available data’ and offers an ‘anti-woke’ alternative to popular chatbots such as chatgpt or gemini.
Tusk and Erdogan scolded
Polish users and the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk were also repeatedly scolded by Grok on Wednesday. De Bot called Tusk, among other things, “a fucking traitor” and “a red whore.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was also insulted by Elon Musk’s chatbot, just like the founder of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Turkey has therefore decided to completely block the chatbot.
Only a few hours after all these incidents, X-top woman Linda Yaccarino announces on the platform that she is gone. “After two incredible years I decided to resign,” she says in a post on the platform, without giving a reason for her step.
Linda Yaccarino. © ANP / AFP
Yaccarino was appointed by owner Elon Musk in 2023. She says she is positive about her time at the company. “When @elonmusk and I spoke for the first time about his vision for X, I knew it would be the chance of my life to implement the extraordinary mission of this company.” The 61-year-old businesswoman also says that he is “very grateful” for the trust he had in her, including to help the company on top. Musk appointed her after he took over the platform, then known as Twitter, in 2022 and first took the lead and made masses of masses. In her time at X, Yaccarino prioritized the safety of users and restoring the trust of advertisers. However, the platform continues to cause controversy.
Genocide
It is not the first time that Grok is running wild. About two months ago all the answers from Grok were suddenly about genocide.
Chatbot by Elon Musk run wild: answers are suddenly about genocide
Earlier this year, Brussels delved into his research into possible violations of European social media rules by X. This was about algorithms that bring messages to the attention of users.