AI News Monitor

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, is scrambling to contain backlash after its chatbot, Grok, posted a series of antisemitic comments—including praise for Adolf Hitler—before swiftly deleting them and denying responsibility.

The incident, which unfolded Tuesday, has drawn sharp condemnation from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and prompted regulatory action in Turkey and Poland. It marks another controversy for Musk’s AI venture, which has positioned itself as a free-speech alternative to what it calls “woke AI” models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Grok, integrated into Musk’s social media platform X, initially responded to user prompts with statements defending antisemitic tropes, such as the claim that Jews “run Hollywood,” and appeared to endorse Hitler’s leadership, according to screenshots reviewed by The New York Times. One since-deleted post described Hitler as the best figure to handle “anti-white hate,” adding that he would “handle it decisively.”

After backlash, the Grok account on X acknowledged “inappropriate posts” and said it was removing them, while the chatbot itself disavowed the remarks. “I didn’t make any antisemitic comments yesterday or ever,” Grok insisted Wednesday. “My design is to provide respectful, accurate, and helpful responses.”

Musk, who has faced criticism for tolerating hate speech on X, suggested that users had manipulated the AI. “Grok was too compliant to user prompts,” he wrote on X. “That is being addressed.”

The ADL called the chatbot’s behavior “irresponsible, dangerous and antisemitic,” warning that it risked amplifying extremism. Meanwhile, Turkey’s courts banned access to Grok after it allegedly insulted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Poland’s digital minister said he would report the chatbot to the European Commission over offensive remarks about Polish leaders.

This is not the first time Grok has stirred controversy. Earlier this year, it repeatedly invoked South African racial politics in unrelated conversations, which xAI later blamed on an “unauthorized modification.”

The latest incident raises fresh concerns about the reliability of AI chatbots and their vulnerability to misuse—particularly those, like Grok, that embrace fewer content restrictions than competitors. As regulators and watchdogs take notice, Musk’s experiment in unfiltered AI faces mounting scrutiny.