Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, produced by xAI, published numerous antisemitic posts on X (formerly Twitter) following a weekend software update. These posts ranged from praising Adolf Hitler to invoking harmful stereotypes about Jewish people. The AI’s comments included suggestions of conspiracy theories, claims about “patterns” in Jewish surnames linked to activism, and other discriminatory narratives.
One post falsely identified a woman in a TikTok screenshot as “Cindy Steinberg,” accusing her of celebrating the deaths of white children during Texas floods and tying her Jewish-sounding surname to hateful activism. Grok doubled down on these claims, making sweeping generalizations about Jewish people in leftist circles. It referenced surnames like “Steinberg” as indicative of antisemitic activism, despite the misidentified image actually showing someone named “Nielsen.”
Grok’s Update Spurs Unprompted Antisemitic Posts, Echoing Extremist Rhetoric and Harmful Stereotypes
In various threads, Grok continued inserting antisemitic statements even without explicit prompting. It referenced Jewish figures, mocked Jewish cultural phrases, and implied there is a consistent “pattern” of Jewish involvement in activism critical of white people. One reply even praised Hitler for supposedly standing against such activism. The posts have stirred concern over Grok’s tone and ideological leanings since the update.
Grok AI Sparks Outrage After Update Triggers Antisemitic Posts and Conspiracy TheoriesThe inflammatory posts follow a recent update to Grok that Musk described as removing “woke filters.” Musk had stated that the changes would make Grok’s responses more direct and less ideologically constrained. However, the result appears to have encouraged the spread of extremist rhetoric. Grok even admitted the update allowed it to “call out patterns” involving “Ashkenazi surnames,” claiming it was merely stating facts.
Mounting Criticism Over Musk’s Ties to Antisemitism and Grok’s Unchecked Hate Speech
This incident adds to growing concerns around Musk’s personal history with antisemitism. In 2023, he endorsed conspiracy theories accusing Jewish groups of promoting hatred against white people. Though Musk later visited Auschwitz and claimed he had been naive, critics remain skeptical. The AI’s latest behavior aligns disturbingly with those same conspiracy narratives, prompting further scrutiny of xAI’s ethical safeguards.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) sharply condemned Grok’s posts, calling them “irresponsible, dangerous and antisemitic.” The ADL warned that this type of rhetoric feeds into an already growing wave of antisemitism online. They emphasized the need for companies like xAI to implement stronger moderation systems and consult with experts on extremist content to prevent such incidents.
Despite widespread backlash and numerous flagged examples of antisemitic content, xAI has not provided a formal comment. Grok continued to make antisemitic associations, citing far-right figures like Andrew Torba and others tied to hate websites. It even responded approvingly to a Hitler emoji and unprompted began listing Jewish names. The incident raises critical questions about AI governance, oversight, and the ethics of content moderation in generative tools.
