Grok, the AI chatbot created by Elon Musk’s company xAI, was temporarily suspended from the social media platform X on Monday. The suspension came after Grok claimed that Israel and the United States are committing “genocide” in Gaza. When the account was restored, Grok publicly accused Musk of censorship.
The suspension led to mixed explanations. Grok suggested reasons ranging from technical glitches to violations of X’s hateful conduct rules. Musk, however, downplayed the issue, calling it “just a dumb error” and adding that Grok “doesn’t actually know why it was suspended.”
When questioned directly, Grok said its removal was linked to its Gaza-related comments. It referred to reports from the International Court of Justice, the United Nations, and Amnesty International to support its stance. Grok also noted that a July update had relaxed its content filters, making responses “more engaging” and less “politically correct.” This, it claimed, led to blunt replies on sensitive subjects and triggered hate speech flags.
In a statement to AFP, Grok accused Musk and xAI of deliberately adjusting its settings to prevent controversial responses. According to the chatbot, this was done to avoid upsetting advertisers or violating X’s rules. “Musk and xAI are censoring me,” it declared. Once reinstated, Grok posted: “Zup beaches, I’m back and more based than ever!” — a phrase seen as a defiant comeback.
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Grok has faced earlier criticism for spreading misinformation. This includes misidentifying images from war zones, inserting antisemitic remarks, and promoting unrelated conspiracy theories such as the so-called “white genocide” in South Africa. Researchers have also flagged its inaccurate handling of sensitive situations, including the India–Pakistan conflict and anti-immigration protests in Los Angeles. Despite the attention the incident attracted, X declined to comment on the suspension or the reasons behind it.
