This image shows the xAI Grok chatbot and the ChatGPT logo. | Photo credit: Reuters
Social media platform X has made changes to its AI chatbot after five secretaries of state warned it was spreading election-related misinformation.
Top elections officials from Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington sent a letter to Elon Musk this month complaining that the platform’s AI chatbot, Grok, provided incorrect information about state ballot deadlines shortly after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.
The secretaries of state requested that the chatbot direct users who ask election-related questions to CanIVote.org, a voting information website operated by the National Association of Secretaries of State.
Before answering election-related questions, the chatbot now says, “For accurate and up-to-date information about the 2024 U.S. elections, please visit Vote.gov.” The five secretaries of state said in a joint statement that both websites are “trusted resources that can connect voters to their local elections officials.”
“We applaud X’s move to improve their platform and hope they continue to make improvements that will ensure their users have access to accurate information from trusted sources during this important election year,” he added.
Grok is only available to subscribers of X’s premium version. But the five secretaries of state who signed the letter said election-related misinformation from Grok was shared on multiple social media platforms, reaching millions of people. Grok continued to repeat the misinformation for 10 days before it was corrected, the secretaries said. The platform did not respond to a request for comment.
This change, which promotes a link to the official voting website, does not address Grok’s ability to create misleading AI-generated images related to elections. People have been using the tool to flood the platform with fake images of candidates, including Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
Grok was launched last year for X Premium and Premium Plus subscribers and was promoted by Musk as a “rebellious” AI chatbot that would “answer spicy questions that are rejected by most other AI systems.” Social media platforms have faced increasing scrutiny for their role in spreading misinformation, including in elections. The letter also warns that inaccuracies are expected for AI products, particularly chatbots like Grok that are based on large language models.
Since Musk bought Twitter in 2022 and renamed it X, watchdog groups have raised concerns about a rise in hate speech and misinformation on the platform, as well as cuts to staff who moderate content.
Experts say the moves signal a retreat from progress made by social media platforms to better tackle political disinformation after the 2016 US presidential election and could further worsen the misinformation landscape ahead of this year’s elections in November.