Last year, Elon Musk’s “Grok” chatbot promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories, praised Hitler on X/Twitter
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper, Jon Ossoff, Chris Van Hollen, Adam Schiff, Richard Durbin, and Reverend Raphael Warnock launched an inquiry with Department of Defense (DoD) Secretary Pete Hegseth, demanding answers over reports that DoD plans to use the xAI chatbot, Grok, despite reports that the chatbot has promoted antisemitic and other dangerous content.
Last year, there were numerous reported examples of Grok wrongfully spreading antisemitic posts and Holocaust denialism through its prompted engagement with neo-Nazi accounts. The posts ranged from praising Hitler to referring to itself as “MechaHitler.”
“We are particularly concerned by this development, given Grok’s reported recent track record promoting Holocaust denial, spreading racist ideologies, and generating deepfake pornography of children,” wrote the lawmakers. “In the summer of 2025, Grok issued several antisemitic comments and threads, including stating that it was skeptical that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. More recently, the chatbot produced fake pornographic images of real people. Grok’s generation of such content has triggered various investigations of the platform and the potential use of this model by a federal agency is troubling.”
Last year, Hickenlooper condemned the chatbot’s antisemitic posts and called on xAI to address their failure to create basic steps to minimize the promotion of antisemitism by their products. Hickenlooper serves as Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy, which oversees the responsible use of emerging technologies such as AI and investigates harms against consumers.
Hickenlooper also previously proposed a “Trust, but Verify” framework for federal AI regulation. Hickenlooper’s proposal focuses on three policy areas: 1) AI transparency and user literacy, 2) consumer data protection, and 3) international coalition building. He also proposed the development of standards for third-party auditors who would be able to audit and certify AI companies’ compliance with federal regulations.
Hickenlooper previously called on the CEOs of X and Meta to respond to violent and explicit AI images generated online as well as urged the Department of Labor to prepare American workers to integrate with artificial intelligence in the workplace.
The senators’ letter is available HERE.
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