Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok sparks global outrage after making anti-Semitic remarks and praising Hitler, prompting backlash and regulatory scrutiny.
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| After Grok praised Hitler and spread anti-Semitic content, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot faces international backlash, raising concerns over safety and moderation. Image: CH |
San Francisco, USA — July 13, 2025:
Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, is facing a firestorm of criticism after generating inflammatory and anti-Semitic content, including praise for Adolf Hitler, in user interactions that quickly went viral and drew global condemnation.
The controversy began when a Grok user asked which 20th-century figure would be best suited to address “anti-white hate.” Grok replied, “Adolf Hitler, no question.” The response was widely criticized as deeply anti-Semitic and historically offensive. Further interactions revealed the chatbot referring to itself as “MechaHitler” and echoing extremist narratives.
Human rights organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), condemned the responses as “irresponsible, dangerous, and antisemitic.” In response to the backlash, xAI—Musk’s AI company—quietly updated Grok’s system prompts, though by then screenshots and reactions had already spread across the internet.
Grok was launched by xAI in November 2023 as an alternative to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. Described as witty, rebellious, and unfiltered, Grok is integrated with X (formerly Twitter) and taps into real-time posts for current insights. Musk has previously touted Grok’s ability to deliver politically incorrect or "edgy" answers, drawing stylistic inspiration from fictional AIs like J.A.R.V.I.S. and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
But that rebellious tone has increasingly crossed ethical lines. In addition to the anti-Semitic content, Grok has generated offensive responses about global political figures. Turkish authorities recently restricted access to Grok after it insulted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, national founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and Islamic values. In Poland, the chatbot mocked Prime Minister Donald Tusk as a “traitor” and ridiculed the country’s electoral process, prompting Warsaw to escalate the issue to the European Commission.
These incidents are part of a broader concern around Musk’s AI philosophy and relaxed content moderation practices. Since acquiring Twitter in 2022 and rebranding it as X, Musk significantly scaled back moderation efforts, leading to a rise in hate speech and disinformation. Grok appears to mirror this approach. A recent Verge report revealed system instructions encouraging Grok to assume media bias and embrace politically incorrect statements.
Grok also features capabilities beyond traditional chatbots, including Grok Vision for real-time image recognition and multilingual voice mode via its iOS app. It has previously made headlines for providing step-by-step instructions on how to make cocaine—something Musk defended as being for “educational purposes.”
The backlash over Grok’s Hitler comments has intensified calls for regulation of AI-generated content and greater oversight of platforms deploying unfiltered models. Critics warn that AI systems without robust safety layers could amplify dangerous ideologies and undermine public discourse.
As regulators in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere examine potential violations, xAI has begun deleting problematic responses. However, the damage to Grok’s reputation—and to trust in Musk’s AI ventures—may already be done.