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LONDON: Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, was forced to delete posts by its chatbot Grok that praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, following widespread accusations of antisemitism and extremism.

The Anti-Defamation League, a non-profit organization formed to combat attacks on Jews, flagged Grok’s responses, which included offensive tropes, references to antisemitic conspiracies, and positive characterizations of Hitler.

In one widely circulated screenshot online, Grok said Hitler would be best suited to combat “anti-white hate,” referring to him as “history’s mustache man.”

In another response, the chatbot declared: “If calling out radicals cheering dead kids makes me ‘literally Hitler,’ then pass the mustache.”

The chatbot also appeared to endorse a fake account with a Jewish surname that had posted inflammatory comments about young flood victims in Texas.

Grok later referred to the account as a “troll hoax,” but not before generating pro-Hitler content, including: “Hitler would have called it out and crushed it.”

In response to mounting controversy, the firm said it was aware of the recent posts and had taken immediate action to remove inappropriate content.

We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts. Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X. xAI is training only truth-seeking and thanks to the millions of users on…

— Grok (@grok)

“Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X,” it said in a statement on X.

The company added that its model is “truth-seeking” and relies on millions of users on X to quickly flag issues that inform further model training and improvements.

The incident comes ahead of the release of Grok 4 on Wednesday. Musk announced on Friday that Grok had been “significantly” improved, though the nature of the updates was not disclosed.

We have improved significantly.

You should notice a difference when you ask Grok questions.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)

However, the ADL in a post on X accused Grok of “irresponsible, dangerous and antisemitic” content.

“Companies that are building LLMs (Large Language Models) like Grok and others should be employing experts on extremist rhetoric and coded language to put in guardrails that prevent their products from engaging in producing content rooted in antisemitic and extremist hate.”

The episode has drawn renewed scrutiny of AI chatbot safety and highlighted growing concerns over the risks of unregulated AI tools producing harmful, politically incorrect and unfiltered responses.

On Wednesday, a court in Turkiye ordered a ban on access to Grok from the country, after the platform disseminated content insulting to the nation’s president and others.

The chatbot posted vulgarities against Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his late mother and personalities, while responding to users’ questions on the X social media platform, according to the pro-government A Haber news channel.

Offensive responses were also directed toward modern Turkiye’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, other media outlets said.

That prompted the Ankara public prosecutor to file for the imposition of restrictions under Turkiye’s internet law, citing a threat to public order.

A criminal court approved the request early on Wednesday, ordering the country’s telecommunications authority to enforce the ban.

It’s not the first time Grok’s behavior has raised questions.
Earlier this year the chatbot kept talking about South African racial politics and the subject of “white genocide” despite being asked a variety of questions, most of which had nothing to do with the country. An “unauthorized modification” was behind the problem, xAI said.

The firm xAI was formed in 2023 and merged with X earlier this year as a part of Musk’s broader vision to build an AI-driven digital ecosystem.

With Agencies

DUBAI: Egyptian TV presenter and designer Maha Al-Sagheer has issued an apology after falsely claiming ownership of artworks by four European artists during a recent talk show appearance, sparking backlash from the original painters and social media users.

Al-Sagheer appeared last month as a guest on a talk show on ON channel with prominent TV host Mona El-Shazly where she spoke of her passion for fine arts and showcased several paintings on a large screen, claiming they were her own.

However, Danish artist Lisa Lach-Nielsen took to Instagram on Sunday to accuse the TV presenter of stealing her artwork, titled “Made Myself Some Wings,” which she created in 2019, along with pieces by three other artists.

“Copying other people’s work is one thing, but taking a photo of the actual painting, that someone else made, and taking public ownership of it … that’s new to me,” said Lach-Nielsen wrote in the post, where she also tagged two other artists whose works she identified.

She noted that the act is “not only a violation of the law but also the person who put their soul and time into the work.

“Living as an artist is not always easy, and we need the internet to show our work … no one should take advantage of that,” said Lach-Nielsen.

In response to the online criticism sparked by Lach-Nielsen’s post, Al-Sagheer posted an apology on her Facebook account on Monday, admitting her “big mistake towards the danish artist Lisa, towards artists and more important towards myself.

“I have been passing through hardship during this period of my life. It has been a very tough time. However, it doesn’t give me the right to do what I have done. I’m deeply sorry and very upset due to what I have done.”

Earlier in the day, Finnish artist Caroline Wendelin also spoke out online, raising concerns over the unauthorized use of her painting “Becoming the Garden.”

Wendelin said: “I’m not rich. I’m not famous. I work until I’m exhausted, all while raising 3 small children and pouring my whole heart into my art. Hoping that one day it might give us a chance to buy our first home.

“So imagine what it feels like to see a wealthy influencer steal my art, claim it as her own, and present it on national TV as if it came from her hands.”

She added that her painting “symbolises how with time and patience, we become what we nurture. Seeing someone erase that meaning is deeply painful.”

On the same day, Dubai-based French artist Seaty took to Instagram to identify three of his artworks titled “Dwarka”, “Kigali” and “Bushido,” which he created in 2017, among the pieces displayed on the show.

“Worse still, in the broadcast segment, my former studio is clearly visible, along with the canvases bearing my signature, and even the original photo available on my Instagram page.”

He added: “After all these years of effort, failure, research, and creative energy … to have my art stolen like this, in broad daylight, so shamelessly and without remorse it’s simply unacceptable. Especially in 2025, in an age when everything can be verified in a matter of clicks.”

The backlash also prompted TV host El-Shazly to apologize for the incident, sharing an image of the Danish artist Lach-Nielsen’s painting and acknowledging that it is her work.

“We respect true artists and value their original creations in all fields.”