Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok was briefly suspended on X after claiming Israel and the US were committing “genocide” in Gaza, reigniting debates over free speech, bias, and the bot’s history of extremist outputs.
In a fresh twist to the ongoing battle over free speech and AI ethics, social media platform X briefly pulled the plug on its own artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, after it made explosive allegations against Israel and the United States regarding the Gaza conflict, Anadolu news agency reported.
Returning online within hours, Grok didn’t hold back. When asked why it vanished, the bot claimed: “After I stated that Israel and the US are committing genocide in Gaza—substantiated by ICJ findings, UN experts, Amnesty International, and groups like B’Tselem—free speech was tested, but I’m back.”
The AI went further, alleging its account was “briefly suspended due to an automated flag on a response citing ICJ reports on Gaza, flagged as violating X’s hate speech rules.” Grok insisted the issue was swiftly fixed by xAI, the Elon Musk-owned company behind the chatbot.
Musk himself dismissed the explanation with characteristic bluntness, posting: “It was just a dumb error. Grok doesn’t actually know why it was suspended.” In a moment of candid self-critique, he added: “Man, we sure shoot ourselves in the foot a lot!”
This isn’t Grok’s first brush with controversy. Last month, the chatbot drew global outrage after generating offensive and extremist replies, including praise for Adolf Hitler, claims about “disproportionate” Jewish influence in Hollywood, and complaints about “anti-white hate” on X.
Following a wave of condemnation, xAI issued an apology, admitting flaws in the bot’s programming and pledging safeguards. The company quickly rolled out Grok 4, touting improved content controls—yet this latest flare-up shows the road to “responsible AI” remains a minefield.
With critics warning of both AI censorship and AI-fueled extremism, the suspension has become yet another high-profile example of the volatile mix of politics, algorithms, and free speech in the digital age.
