The social network X, owned by Elon Musk, has become a vehicle for spreading conspiracy theories related to election fraud with the help of the artificial intelligence program Grok, a feature that only premium users have access to.
The Grok assistant is available to FOTO SHUTTERSTOCK premium users
Grok is used to aggregate and present trending topics in the “explore” section, but the AI-generated content is not vetted by humans, which has led to the amplification of unsubstantiated claims, including defamation of US Vice President Kamala Harris, NBC News reports .
The ‘stories for you’ feature provides users with a stream of posts related to popular topics. For users of the desktop version, Grok can create story summaries.
Trending topics selected by Grok are accompanied by the warning that the assistant is subject to error and users are responsible for verifying the veracity of the facts.
For example, the program promoted debunked allegations related to Dominion Voting Systems’ electronic voting systems that allegedly rigged votes in 2020. It also rehashed theories about alleged corruption of election workers in Maricopa County, Arizona.
In his summary of the online debate, Grok accused Dominion of “potentially stifling legitimate election security discussions” through “legal threats.”
Grok also spread conspiracy theories about Vice President Harris, including unsubstantiated allegations that she used cocaine in the White House or claims spread on X that she attended parties hosted by Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is facing sexual abuse allegations . These rumors were supported by manipulated images, in which Harris’s face was added to photos of the real protagonists.
Some of Grok’s aggregated posts have millions of views, but it’s unclear if this is due to their selection among trending posts.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, shared some of the same conspiracy theories amplified by the Grok program.
Musk has poured nearly $75 million into a pro-Trump super PAC and has been criss-crossing Pennsylvania, a key swing state, in a bid to get pro-Trump voters to the polls, also promising a million-dollar daily prize. dollars for those who sign an online petition.
