Secretaries of State Demand X to Address Grok Chatbot's Election Misinformation

Secretaries of state from five states penned an open letter to Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly Twitter). They demanded immediate changes to X’s AI chatbot, Grok, which spread false claims about Vice President Kamala Harris’s eligibility for the 2024 presidential ballot.

Grok, available only to X Premium subscribers, incorrectly stated that ballot deadlines had passed in nine states. This misinformation circulated widely before being corrected ten days later.

The letter, signed by secretaries from Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Washington, Michigan, and New Mexico, highlighted the urgency of ensuring accurate election information.

Musk’s handling of political content on X has been criticized. Data shows X has fewer moderation staff than other platforms, a result of significant layoffs. Despite promises of a new trust and safety center, X hired far fewer moderators than projected.

Musk’s personal contributions to misinformation include sharing a video using AI to clone Harris’s voice, making false statements about her capabilities. His posts on civil war and riots in the U.K. have also drawn criticism.

In a critical election year, the integrity of information is paramount. The actions of platform leaders and the accuracy of AI tools are under intense scrutiny.