Elon Musk's xAI said Grok's behavior was due to an update that caused it to prioritize engagement, even if posts contained "controversial opinions."

On Tuesday July 8, X (née Twitter) was forced to switch off the social media platform’s in-built AI, Grok, after it declared itself to be a robot version of Hitler, spewing antisemitic hate and racist conspiracy theories. This followed X owner Elon Musk’s declaration over the weekend that he was insisting Grok be less “politically correct.”

Grok 4 has a favorite source on some hot-topic issues, citing Elon Musk's opinions without being instructed to do so.

This is the smartest AI in the world,” Musk said. He did not mention the chatbot’s viral posts praising Hitler and calling itself “MechaHitler.”