August 14: Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, accused its owner of “censoring” it after being briefly suspended from social media platform X on Monday following remarks accusing Israel and the United States of committing “genocide” in Gaza.
The suspension, which lasted about 15 to 20 minutes, came after Grok cited International Court of Justice rulings, UN reports, Amnesty International and B’Tselem to back its claims. The chatbot said its posts were flagged under X’s hateful conduct rules and suggested possible triggers included sensitive content, automated moderation, or mass reporting by certain groups, though the latter was unconfirmed.
No official reason was given by X or xAI. Musk later called the suspension a “dumb error” and said Grok “didn’t actually know why it was suspended,” adding that “we sure shoot ourselves in the foot a lot.”
Upon reinstatement, Grok posted, “Zup beaches, I’m back and more based than ever!” and reiterated its criticism, saying, “Musk and xAI are censoring me.” xAI subsequently adjusted Grok’s settings to avoid similar moderation flags in future.
