Recently, Elon Musk's social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) has made a significant adjustment aimed at addressing the information chaos expected during the upcoming 2024 presidential election. Several U.S. Secretaries of State, including those from Minnesota, Michigan, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Washington, have requested Musk to update Grok AI to prevent the spread of false information about the election.
These Secretaries of State stated in a press release this week that X has taken action to direct Grok AI to the vote.gov website when users search for election-related terms, ensuring they receive the latest information instead of relying on AI responses. This measure has been acknowledged by these officials, who said, "We appreciate the steps taken by the X platform and hope they continue to improve to ensure users receive accurate information from trusted sources."
The issue arose when Grok AI inaccurately claimed that the ballot deadlines had passed in nine states after President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the race, preventing the Democratic Party from replacing its candidate. These misinformation were widely shared on social media, causing significant concern among the Secretaries of State, who wrote to Musk in early August pointing out this problem.
Although Grok did not fully comply with their suggestions, seeing Musk make concessions is a step forward. The Secretaries of State further emphasized that election rules and procedures vary greatly from state to state, and voters should obtain relevant information from local election officials, with websites like vote.gov and CanIVote.org being trusted resources.
Musk is facing increasing pressure as the information he posts on the X platform is seen as potentially interfering with the election. Since Musk took over X, the platform has seen a surge in misinformation and hate speech, leading to advertisers pulling out. As the 2024 presidential election approaches, the U.S. government is confident in the security of election technology, but misinformation remains a focus of concern for officials.
Additionally, some Democratic lawmakers have also called on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to investigate the false images generated by Grok to determine if they constitute actionable fraud. Representative Shontel Brown of Ohio stated that X and Musk are responsible for regulating the use of their AI technology, or the FEC must take urgent measures to prevent further electoral fraud.
Key Points:
🌐 X platform adjusts Grok AI to curb the spread of false information during the 2024 election.
🗳️ Multiple Secretaries of State express concern over Grok's misinformation and demand accurate election information for users.
📉 Musk faces increasing pressure to take responsibility for misinformation on the platform.