Elon Musk's own AI claims Tesla boss is a 'huge spreader of misinformation'

Elon Musk, the CEO of xAI and owner of X (formerly Twitter), has often found himself at the centre of controversy for spreading misinformation.

Now, his own AI chatbot, Grok, has candidly highlighted this problem. Grok, which Musk has promoted as a direct and honest AI tool, seems to have pulled no punches when discussing its creator’s penchant for sharing falsehoods.

When asked if Musk has been responsible for spreading misinformation to billions, Grok’s response was quite damning. It confirmed that there is substantial evidence showing Musk has shared misleading content on various topics, including claims related to elections.

Grok explained that Musk’s misleading social media posts, particularly those involving the recent presidential election, have been viewed billions of times. Examples include Musk’s amplification of manipulated videos and debunked allegations about voting fraud, such as claims of non-citizens voting — a staple narrative of election misinformation.

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One of the more glaring incidents Grok highlighted involved Musk’s endorsement of a video purportedly showing armed gangs storming polling stations in Venezuela.

The footage shared as evidence of political unrest, was quickly debunked by other users, who pointed out that it merely depicted a group of thieves stealing air conditioners. Despite the clear factual errors, Musk’s posts gained significant traction before the truth emerged.

Grok also mentioned the limitations of X’s Community Notes feature, designed to fact-check and address misinformation on the platform. Notably, Musk has proudly touted community notes as the best way fact fact-check anyone and everyone and keep X free of “ideological biases” regardless of one’s political inclinations.

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Notably, the AI pointed out that this tool has often failed to keep up with the rapid spread of false information, allowing Musk’s claims to circulate widely without correction.

While Grok offered a relatively restrained analysis of Musk’s behaviour, it didn’t shy away from pointing out his history of spreading harmful rhetoric.

It omitted some of the more controversial instances, such as Musk’s role in amplifying conspiracy theories, endorsing racist ideologies, or sharing fearmongering content about marginalised groups, including immigrants and the transgender community.

Ironically, Grok itself has not been immune to spreading misinformation. The chatbot has faced criticism for errors, including providing inaccurate details about the eligibility of political candidates ahead of elections.

Additionally, Musk has previously expressed frustration with the AI, even threatening to “lobotomise” it after finding that its answers skewed too “left” and “libertarian” for his liking.