--- title: "Elon Musk’s Grok AI Blasts Elon Musk as Huge Spreader of Misinformation" description: "xAI's Grok AI chatbot happily pointed out that CEO Elon Musk has a strong tendency to spread misinformation to \"billions\" of people." date: "2024-11-12" modified: "2024-11-12" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/grok-blasts-elon-musk-misinformation" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "ai chatbots" - "elon musk" - "grok" - "the digest" - "twitter" - "xai" --- # Elon Musk’s Grok AI Blasts Elon Musk as Huge Spreader of Misinformation ![xAI's Grok AI chatbot happily pointed out that CEO Elon Musk has a strong tendency to spread misinformation to "billions" of people.]() *\Image: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images\* ## Spade a Spade X-formerly-Twitter owner and xAI CEO Elon Musk isn't very concerned about the truth. The [astonishingly gullible]() billionaire has a well-documented tendency to [spread misinformation](), an embarrassing and often dangerous quality that's undermined his standing in the world of science and technology. In fact, even his own AI company's chatbot Grok — which Musk himself has [branded as a brash truth-teller ]()— has a pretty good grasp on the situation. "Yes, there is substantial evidence and analysis suggesting that Elon Musk has spread misinformation on various topics, including elections, to a very large audience through his social media platform, X," Grok [responded when asked]() if "Elon Musk spread misinformation to billions of people." ## Busted Grok pointed to the wealth of misinformation Musk has shared in recent years, especially when it comes to the most recent presidential election. "Musk's posts related to elections, which have contained misleading or false claims, have amassed billions of views," Grok wrote. "Musk has shared manipulated videos and debunked claims about voting processes, including allegations about non-citizen voting, which are common themes in misinformation narratives." Case in point, less than a day after Musk [cosigned]() a [meme]() that called people who "still believe everything shown in \[sic\] news" dumb, he shared a video that purportedly showed "armed communist Maduro gangs... storming polling stations in Punta Cardón," Venezuela. As many users quickly [pointed out](), the video actually showed thieves attempting to steal air conditioners. Grok also helpfully points out that X's own Community Notes feature has [often failed]() to point out when Musk spread malicious disinfo on the platform, "either due to its limitations or the rapid spread of the information before corrections can be applied." In other words, the platform's own solution to misinformation is woefully inadequate, allowing Musk's own fibs to proliferate widely. While largely giving a sober account of Musk's problematic behavior, the AI chatbot's answer does leave out some other notable details: that Musk isn't just using his platform to misinform voters, he's also using it to further [racist ideologies]() and unhinged [conspiracy theories](), as well as to share [hurtful]() and [easily disproven fearmongering]() about vulnerable groups like trans people and immigrants. Grok has also been shown to [spread misinformation ahead of the presidential election itself](), for instance failing to tell whether a new candidate still had time to be added to ballots. It's far from the first time Grok has turned on its creator. Last year, Musk [vowed to lobotomize]() the allegedly "woke" chatbot after finding that its political tendencies were leaning far too "left" and "libertarian." But given its level-headed assessment of Musk's misinformation machine, it seems like Grok still has the ability to get it right — at least some of the time. **More on Grok:** *[Elon Musk Recommends Feeding Your Medical Scans Into His Grok AI]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()