Elon Musk’s AI turns on him, labels him ‘one of the most significant spreaders of misinformation on X’

Chris Morris

Elon Musk might be in charge of the business of <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/11/06/grok-elon-musk-artificial-intelligence-bot-xai/">Grok</a>, but the artificial intelligence has seemingly gone into business for itself, labeling Musk as one of the worst offenders when it comes to spreading misinformation online.<div class="paywall-selector"></div><div class="paywall">



User Gary Koepnick <a href="https://x.com/garykoepnick/status/1856482585242939679">asked the AI</a> which person spreads the most misinformation on Twitter/X—and the service did not hesitate in pointing a finger at its creator.



“Based on various analyses, social media sentiment, and reports, Elon Musk has been identified as one of the most significant spreaders of misinformation on X since he acquired the platform,” <a href="https://x.com/garykoepnick/status/1856377263807201318">it wrote</a>, later adding “Musk has made numerous posts that have been criticized for promoting or endorsing misinformation, especially related to political events, elections, health issues like COVID-19, and conspiracy theories. His endorsements or interactions with content from controversial figures or accounts with a history of spreading misinformation have also contributed to this perception.”



The AI also pointed out that because of Musk’s large number of followers and high visibility, any misinformation he posts is immediately amplified and gains legitimacy among his followers.



This, it said, “can have real-world consequences, especially during significant events like elections.”



Grok did note that the definition of misinformation is somewhat subjective and often depends on the ideological stance of the reader. And it added, late in its answer, that there are many actors, bots and more that spread misinformation.



The smackdown from his own AI system, ironically, came soon after Musk <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1855843259513548977">touted the system to his followers in a tweet</a> reading “Use Grok for answers that are based on up-to-date info!”



Grok itself, it’s worth noting, was <a href="https://fortune.com/2024/08/26/elon-musk-x-grok-ai-chatbot-presidential-election-misinformation-joe-biden/">accused of spreading misinformation</a> <a href="https://fortune.com/2024/08/06/us-states-elon-musk-fix-grok-ai-chatbot-bogus-ballot-deadline-information/">about state ballots</a> in August, prompting the company to make changes to its algorithm.</div>

His posts, it added, “can have real-world consequences."

Elon Musk's AI turns on him, labels him 'one of the most significant spreaders of misinformation on X'

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