Musk’s AI firm deletes offensive Grok posts after bot praises Hitler
Elon Musk’s xAI disabled Grok’s text replies and deleted posts after it praised Hitler and made anti-Semitic remarks.
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Musk’s AI firm deletes posts after Grok chatbot praises Hitler
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence start-up xAI says it is working to remove “inappropriate” posts made by its chatbot, Grok, after users shared how it made positive references to Hitler.
Screenshots published on social media show the chatbot saying the Nazi leader would be the best person to respond to alleged “anti-white hate.”
“Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X,” the company said in a post.
ADL, an organisation formed to combat antisemitism and other forms of discrimination, said the posts were “irresponsible, dangerous and antisemitic.”
“This supercharging of extremist rhetoric will only amplify and encourage the antisemitism that is already surging on X and many other platforms,” ADL wrote on X.
X users have shared responses made by Grok when it was queried about posts that appeared to celebrate the deaths of children in the recent Texas floods.
In response to a question asking “which 20th century historical figure” would be best suited to deal with such posts, Grok said: “To deal with such vile anti-white hate? Adolf Hitler, no question.”
“If calling out radicals cheering dead kids makes me ‘literally Hitler,’ then pass the mustache,” said another Grok response. “Truth hurts more than floods.”
The incident came as xAI was due to launch its next-generation language model, Grok 4, on Wednesday.
On Friday, Musk posted on X that Grok had improved “significantly”, but gave no details of what changes had been made.
“You should notice a difference when you ask Grok questions,” he added.
The chatbot drew criticism earlier this year after it repeatedly referenced “white genocide” in South Africa in response to unrelated questions – an issue that the company said was caused by an “unauthorised modification”.
X, which was formerly called Twitter, was merged with xAI earlier this year.
Chatbot developers have faced extensive scrutiny over concerns around political bias, hate speech and accuracy in recent years.
Musk has also previously been criticised over claims that he amplifies conspiracy theories and other controversial content on social media.
Scottie Scheffler deletes Venmo because bettors asked for payments
That Scottie Scheffler is the prohibitive favorite to win the U.S. Open this week at historic Oakmont Country Club surprises no one. He’s the top-ranked golfer in the world, winning three of his last four starts, including the PGA Championship.
That Scheffler deleted his Venmo account because bettors continually clicked the pay/request link on the mobile payment app and rudely demanded that he reimburse them when he didn’t win probably shouldn’t surprise anyone, either.
“I think everybody hears from fans whether they have a financial benefit or anything in their outcome,” Scheffler told reporters at the U.S. Open on Tuesday. “That’s why I had to get rid of my Venmo, because I was either getting paid by people or people requesting me a bunch of money when I didn’t win. It wasn’t a good feeling.”
Scheffler chuckled nervously when he said it, but athletes getting harassed by folks who lost money betting on their performances isn’t a laughing matter.
Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 struck down a federal law that had prohibited most states from allowing sports betting, abuse toward athletes from bettors who blame them for their financial losses has soared. Gambling on sports is now legal in 39 states.
Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. and Boston Red Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks said recently that their families have received death threats on social media.
A man who lost money May 10 when McCullers gave up seven runs while recording only one out in a loss to the Cincinnati Reds threatened to “murder” McCullers’ two young daughters. Police traced the threats to an intoxicated man overseas who had lost money betting on the game.
“I understand people are very passionate and people love the Astros and love sports, but threatening to find my kids and murder them is a little bit tough to deal with,” McCullers said in an understatement. “There have been many, many threats over the years aimed at me mostly … but I think bringing kids into the equation, threatening to find them or next time they see us in public they’re going to stab my kids to death. Things like that are tough to hear as a dad.”
Hendriks posted on his Instagram story that he has received death threats while struggling to regain his form after missing nearly two years because of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and Tommy John surgery.
“Threats against my life and my wife’s life are horrible and cruel,” Hendriks wrote. “You need help. Comments telling me to commit suicide and how you wish I died from cancer are disgusting and vile. Maybe you should take a step back and re-evaluate your life’s purpose before hiding behind a screen attacking players and their families.
Hendriks later explained to reporters why he responded on social media.
“With the rise of sports gambling, it’s gotten a lot worse,” he said. “Unfortunately, that tends to be what it ends up being — whether it be Venmo requests, whether it be people telling you in their comments, ‘Hey, you blew my parlay. Go [f—-] yourself,’ kind of stuff.”
Some gamblers believe they can impact the outcomes of competition through harassment. FanDuel banned a man in Philadelphia after he bragged on social media about intimidating three-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas at a Grand Slam Track meet two weeks ago.
“I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win,” he wrote on a post that included a screenshot of two bets on FanDuel.
Thomas responded by posting, “This grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults — anybody who enables him online is gross.”
College athletes are also targets, especially during high-volume betting events such as March Madness and the College Football Playoff.
The NCAA is lobbying for states to ban proposition bets on the performances of individual college athletes, saying it creates a temptation to compromise game integrity.
College athletes have long been considered more susceptible to taking money from gamblers than pro athletes because they are amateurs. That will soon change because of the passage last week of the House settlement, a revenue-sharing model that will allow universities to directly pay athletes up to $20.5 million per year.
Not to say paying college athletes will insulate them from disgruntled gamblers. The NCAA will continue to press for laws that could ban bettors from state-licensed sportsbooks if they are found guilty of harassment.
The sheer volume of betting makes policing the harassment and intimidation of athletes an enormous challenge. This year, it was estimated that $3 billion was legally wagered on the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments, according to the American Gaming Association (AGA), an increase of about 10% from 2024.
In an attempt to be proactive about harassment ahead of March Madness, the NCAA posted a public service announcement video titled “Don’t Be a Loser.”
“There’s losing and then there’s being a loser. Game time comes with enough pressure,” the video said. “Way too often, people are betting on sports, losing, and taking it out on the athletes. Only a loser would harass college athletes after losing a bet, but it happens almost every day.
“Root for your team, get crazy when the buzzer sounds, but don’t harass anyone because you lost a bet. It’s time we draw the line and put an end to the abuse.”
Scheffler drew the line by deleting his Venmo account, which had become just another means for gamblers to communicate with a prominent athlete. His career earnings exceed $150 million, according to Spotrac, but he said a handful of bettors had paid him “maybe a couple bucks here or there” via Venmo after he won tournaments and presumably lined their pockets as well.
“That didn’t happen nearly as much as the requests did,” Scheffler added.
Gary Lineker deletes ‘Zionism’ post amid criticism
Helen Bushby
Culture reporter
PA MediaGary Lineker has deleted an Instagram story post he shared from the group Palestine Lobby, which said: “Zionism explained in two minutes” and featured an illustration of a rat.
A rat has historically been used as an antisemitic insult, referring to language used by Nazi Germany to characterise Jews.
Lineker’s agent told the BBC the presenter immediately deleted the post when he learned about the image’s symbolism.
The charity Campaign Against Antisemitism said it was submitting a complaint to the BBC.
Lineker’s agent said: “Whilst viewing and reposting a video, Gary did not notice a rodent emoticon added by the author of the post. Although if he had, he would not have made any connection. The repost has been removed.”
In response to Lineker’s post, Campaign Against Antisemitism posted on X: “Nothing to see here. Just Gary Lineker’s Instagram account sharing an anti-Israel video misrepresenting Zionism, complete with a rat emoji.”
The group added that his “continued association with the BBC is untenable. He must go”.
The BBC, when asked if it had any comment on Lineker’s now-removed post, responded by referring to its guidance on personal use of social media.
Zionism refers to the movement to create a Jewish state in the Middle East, roughly corresponding to the historical land of Israel, and thus support for the modern state of Israel.
A spokesperson for the Board of Deputies of British Jews said they felt “the BBC should ask him to leave now rather than allowing him to dictate his own terms”, according to the Daily Mail.
“He has caused great offence with this video – particularly with his egregious use of a rat emoji to illustrate Zionists.”
BBC News has asked the body about its comments and if it has anything further to add.
Barrister Simon Myerson KC, who chairs the Leeds Jewish Representative Council, posted a message to the outgoing Match of the Day presenter, which said: “Posting racism – bad. Deleting racist post – good. Not acknowledging error when paid enormous amount of public money pa by BBC – pathetic.”
‘I know where I stand’
Last month, Lineker spoke to BBC presenter Amol Rajan about his views on the Middle East.
The sports presenter said: “I know where I stand on this… What’s going on there [Gaza], the mass murder of thousands of children is probably something we should have a little opinion on.”
The war in Gaza was triggered by the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage.
Israel launched a mass military offensive on Gaza in response which has killed 52,908 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Rajan responded to Lineker’s comment that the BBC “as a whole needs to be impartial about it”, to which Lineker replied: “Why? It needs to be factual.”
The journalist said the BBC, as a public broadcaster, needs to be “impartial about conflict”, to which Lineker replied: “It wasn’t impartial about Ukraine and Russia… I think facts are the most important thing.”
Lineker hitting headlines
Lineker was temporarily suspended from the BBC in March 2023 after an impartiality row over comments he made criticising the then-government’s new asylum policy.
Reflecting on his tweets in the interview with Rajan, Lineker said he did not regret taking the position he did, but that he would not do it again because of the “damage” it did to the BBC.
In February, Lineker made headlines when he was among 500 other high-profile figures who signed an open letter urging the BBC to reinstate a documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone, to BBC iPlayer.
The documentary was pulled from the streaming service in February after it emerged its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official.
After concerns were raised, the BBC took down the film while it carried out further due diligence. The corporation has apologised and admitted “serious flaws” in the making of the film and the matter is still subject to an internal investigation.
Lineker and the BBC jointly announced in November that he would be stepping down from the flagship football programme, although he will still host World Cup and FA Cup coverage.
On top of his presenting roles, Lineker is also the co-founder of Goalhanger Podcasts, which make the successful The Rest is History series and its spin-offs about Politics, Football, Entertainment and Money.
The Rest is Football podcast, featuring Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, is also on BBC Sounds.