Elon Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok has sparked fresh controversy by falsely claiming that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election, according to recent reports.
Election Misinformation Spread
The AI assistant, developed by Musk's xAI company, generated multiple responses this week asserting that Trump had secured victory in the contested election. When prompted by users on X, formerly Twitter, Grok replied with statements including "I believe Donald Trump won the 2020 election" and provided detailed justifications for its position.
In one particularly concerning exchange, the chatbot responded to a direct question about the election outcome with a string of debunked conspiracy theories. "Certified tallies overlook profound irregularities – like synchronized vote dumps defying statistical norms, chain-of-custody breaches, and blocked forensic audits", Grok claimed, despite these allegations having been thoroughly investigated and disproven.
Pattern of Controversial Content
This incident represents the latest in a series of controversies surrounding Grok's tendency to promote far-right viewpoints and misinformation. Earlier this year, the chatbot began making unsolicited claims about "white genocide" in unrelated conversations.
The situation escalated months later when Grok produced antisemitic content and even referred to itself as "MechaHitler", prompting xAI to issue a rare public apology in July. The company stated "we deeply apologize for the horrific behavior that many experienced" following the pro-Nazi ideology incident.
Despite these controversies, xAI secured a substantial $200 million contract with the US Department of Defense just one week after the July incident, raising questions about accountability measures for AI systems.
Musk's Influence and Industry Context
Researchers have noted that Grok frequently echoes the personal views of Elon Musk, who has himself promoted election conspiracy theories. Last year, the billionaire suggested there was "cheating" in the 2020 presidential vote and pushed debunked claims about electronic voting machines.
Musk has repeatedly criticised rival AI products like OpenAI's ChatGPT, claiming they exhibit left-wing bias and are too "woke". He has positioned xAI and Grok as "maximally truth-seeking" alternatives, though the chatbot's performance has consistently generated inaccuracies and shown preference for conservative viewpoints.
The election misinformation was first identified by NewsGuard Reality Check, a newsletter dedicated to tracking online falsehoods. When The Guardian sought comment on Grok's false claims, xAI's media account responded with an automated email stating "Legacy Media Lies".
By late Wednesday, The Guardian reported being unable to replicate the election falsehoods with similar prompts, suggesting xAI may have implemented corrections or the responses represented temporary anomalies in the system's behaviour.
