Elon Musk’s X tweaks chatbot after warning over US election misinformation

The social media platform X has updated its AI chatbot following concerns from five U.S. secretaries of state that it was disseminating election misinformation.

Officials from Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Washington sent a letter to Elon Musk this month, highlighting that the platform’s AI chatbot, Grok, had been providing incorrect information about state ballot deadlines shortly after President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race.

The secretaries of state requested that the chatbot redirect users with election-related inquiries to CanIvote.org, a site managed by the National Association of Secretaries of State.

In response, the chatbot now directs users with election-related questions to Vote.gov, stating, “For accurate and up-to-date information about the 2024 U.S. Elections, please visit Vote.gov.”

Both Vote.gov and CanIvote.org are considered “trustworthy resources that can connect voters with their local election officials,” according to a joint statement from the five secretaries.

“We appreciate X’s efforts to enhance their platform and hope they continue to make improvements to ensure users access accurate information from reliable sources during this critical election year,” they stated.

Grok is available exclusively to X’s premium and premium plus subscribers. However, the secretaries of state noted that the misinformation from Grok had been widely shared across various social media platforms, reaching millions.

The chatbot continued to propagate incorrect information for ten days before it was addressed, the secretaries said.

The platform has not responded to requests for comment.

The update to promote links to official voting websites does not address Grok’s potential to generate misleading AI-created images related to elections. Users have been using the tool to produce and distribute fake images of candidates, including U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Grok, which launched last year for premium subscribers, was promoted by Musk as a “rebellious” AI chatbot capable of answering “spicy questions” often rejected by other AI systems.

Social media platforms are under increasing scrutiny for their role in spreading misinformation, particularly concerning elections.

The letter also cautioned that inaccuracies are common in AI products, particularly chatbots like Grok, which rely on large language models.

Since Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in 2022 and its rebranding to X, there have been growing concerns from watchdog groups about a rise in hate speech and misinformation, coupled with reductions in staff responsible for content moderation.