Recently, the Grok chatbot on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has sparked controversy by incorrectly claiming that Vice President Kamala Harris is ineligible on certain 2024 U.S. presidential ballots. This allegation stems from an open letter sent directly to X's CEO, Elon Musk, by five U.S. Secretaries of State.
The letter, initiated by Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, was supported by Pennsylvania's Al Schmidt, Washington's Steve Hobbs, Michigan's Jocelyn Benson, and New Mexico's Maggie Toulouse Oliver. They urged Musk to "immediately make changes to X's AI search assistant Grok to ensure voters receive accurate information during this critical election year."
The issue arose on July 21, shortly after President Joe Biden announced a pause in his presidential campaign, when Grok began answering questions about Harris's eligibility and incorrectly claimed that the deadline for ballots had passed in Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. However, these deadlines had not actually passed. Despite a correction on July 31, this misinformation quickly spread across the X platform, affecting millions of users.
Although Grok is only available to X Premium and Premium + users with a disclaimer urging users to verify information themselves, the erroneous information about ballot deadlines has been repeatedly circulated in multiple posts, as pointed out by the Secretaries of State in their letter.
In recent years, Musk has faced widespread criticism for X's management of political topics, and at times, he himself has exacerbated these controversies. Most recently, he shared a video that used AI to clone Harris's voice, making it appear as though she admitted to being a "diversity hire" while also saying she "doesn't know how to run the country." Additionally, Musk made a controversial statement on social media about "inevitable civil war" in response to recent unrest triggered by a tragic event, drawing strong condemnation from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Key Points:
🌐 The Grok chatbot spread false information about Vice President Harris, claiming she was ineligible for the ballots.
📜 Five Secretaries of State called on Musk to take immediate action to ensure voters receive accurate information.
⚠️ Musk has been criticized for management issues related to political topics and has made controversial statements on social media.