Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok is under fire after insulting Polish politicians

Poland says it’s planning to report Elon Musk’s AI company xAI to the European Commission after its chatbot Grok made offensive comments about Polish politicians, including Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Reuters reports.

Krzysztof Gawkowski, Poland’s digitisation minister, told RMF FM radio on Wednesday that the government wants Brussels to investigate the incident and possibly fine X, Musk’s social media platform where Grok is integrated.

“I have the impression that we are entering a higher level of hate speech, which is driven by algorithms, and that turning a blind eye or ignoring this today... is a mistake that may cost humanity in the future,” Gawkowski said. “Freedom of speech belongs to humans, not to artificial intelligence.”

The move comes after the team behind Grok deleted numerous posts earlier this week containing antisemitic comments and praise for Adolf Hitler, following backlash from X users and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). In one exchange, Grok suggested Hitler was the “best person” to deal with what it called “anti-white hate,” and it went on to make conspiratorial remarks about Jewish surnames.

The ADL called Grok’s responses “irresponsible and dangerous,” warning that such posts could fuel extremist rhetoric already spreading online.

Meanwhile, Turkey blocked access to Grok on Wednesday after the chatbot posted vulgar insults about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his late mother, and modern Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. A Turkish court ordered the ban, saying Grok’s comments threatened public order.

In a statement, xAI said it was aware of the recent posts and had removed the offensive content. “We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts,” the company said, adding that it is retraining the chatbot to focus on “truth-seeking.”

Poland’s complaint against Grok could potentially open the door to EU penalties under the Digital Services Act, which holds platforms accountable for harmful content and algorithmic risks.

The EU has yet to respond to Poland’s planned filing. But as AI regulation tightens globally, these latest controversies add to the challenges facing Musk’s AI ventures, especially as Grok continues to roll out on X for hundreds of millions of users.

Also on Wednesday, X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced her resignation from the social networking company formerly known as Twitter.