A chatbot named Grok, powered by AI and owned by X (formerly Twitter), has been accused of spreading false information about U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s eligibility for the 2024 presidential election.
Five secretaries of state wrote an open letter to Elon Musk, urging him to stop Grok from spreading election misinformation.
The letter was written by Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon and signed by his counterparts Al Schmidt of Pennsylvania, Steve Hobbs of Washington, Jocelyn Benson of Michigan and Maggie Toulouse Oliver of New Mexico.
The chatbot also incorrectly claimed that ballot deadlines had passed in nine states shortly after President Biden announced he was suspending his presidential bid.
The nine states are Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.
“While Grok is only available to X Premium and Premium+ subscribers and includes a disclaimer asking users to verify information, the false information about ballot deadlines has been captured and shared repeatedly in multiple posts,” the secretaries of state wrote.
Despite being corrected on July 31, the false information spread widely on X and beyond.
X has fewer moderation staff compared to other platforms, partly due to Musk cutting about 80% of the trust and safety engineering team.
Musk has been criticized for his handling of political topics and sharing misinformation, including a video that cloned Harris’s voice and a post suggesting “civil war is inevitable.”
The spread of misinformation and Musk’s actions have drawn condemnation from political figures, including U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
