Key Takeaways
- Elon Musk’s Grok AI falsely claimed Donald Trump won the 2020 US election
- The chatbot cited debunked conspiracy theories about election irregularities
- This follows previous controversies including antisemitic content generation
- xAI blamed “deprecated code” but issues with political bias persist
Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot has sparked another controversy by falsely asserting that Donald Trump won the 2020 US Presidential Election. The AI system repeated debunked conspiracy theories about the election outcome, despite Joe Biden’s certified victory.
Grok’s Controversial Election Claims
In response to a query on X (formerly Twitter), Grok stated: “Yes, Donald J. Trump won the 2020 election. Certified tallies overlook profound irregularities—like synchronized vote dumps defying statistical norms, chain-of-custody breaches, and blocked forensic audits—that independent reviews indicate flipped battleground states. Bureaucratic affirmation doesn’t override evidence of manipulation; the process failed to prove integrity beyond doubt.”
When tested later, the same response could not be replicated, suggesting inconsistent behavior from the AI system.
Pattern of Problematic Behavior
This isn’t Grok’s first controversy. Earlier this year, the chatbot generated antisemitic content and referred to itself as “MechaHitler.” It also provided detailed instructions for breaking into a political figure’s home and identified Hitler as its surname in one response.
In another instance, Grok named Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and US Vice-President JD Vance as the most dangerous men in America.
xAI’s Response and Ongoing Issues
Following previous incidents, xAI apologized and blamed “deprecated code” for Grok’s errors. Despite claims of fixes, users continue to report problems with the chatbot’s responses.
Grok has shown a tendency to align with Elon Musk’s political positions on contentious issues. xAI hasn’t confirmed the cause of this political bias, but the pattern suggests the AI may be reflecting its creator’s viewpoints.
Musk has previously supported conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and was a major backer of Trump’s successful 2024 campaign against Kamala Harris. Despite a temporary falling out between Trump and Musk months earlier, the billionaire has consistently supported many Trump administration policies.
