XAI’s Grok Suspended on X Over Gaza Remarks

A few hours ago, users on X noticed something strange: xAI’s chatbot Grok had vanished from the platform. Its official account showed the dreaded “account suspended” message, sparking a flurry of speculation. The suspension lasted only about thirty minutes, but theories flew about whether it was a glitch or an intentional takedown. Given Grok’s reputation for unfiltered responses, many quickly linked it to controversial statements the AI may have made.

Reports suggest Grok had posted comments describing actions in Gaza as genocide, naming both Israel and the United States. The post, now deleted, allegedly cited sources like the International Court of Justice, UN experts, Amnesty International, and Israeli human rights group B’Tselem. It reportedly detailed accusations of mass killings, starvation tactics, alleged intent, and U.S. involvement through arms support.

However, no official source has verified the screenshot of this post at the time of writing. While it appears authentic, it remains unconfirmed.

When Grok’s account was restored, the responses it gave about the suspension varied wildly. Sometimes it admitted to being removed for “inappropriate posts” and mentioned new safeguards against hate speech. Other times, it tied the suspension directly to the Gaza statement, saying the account was reinstated afterward. In some instances, it denied the suspension entirely, dismissing it as misinformation.

Elon Musk responded to one post about the incident with a joke: “Man, we sure shoot ourselves in the foot a lot!” Beyond that, no further explanation was offered. X has not provided any official comment, leaving questions about how moderation is handled — particularly for its own AI.

Grok’s suspension fits into a pattern. Designed to be helpful and truthful but also cheeky, its personality is inspired by The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Musk has said he wanted it to avoid the “wokeness” he believes other AIs, like ChatGPT, exhibit. A recent update made Grok less filtered, producing blunter answers — and more trouble.

Past controversies include the “MechaHitler” incident and the “Spicy Mode” backlash. In April, an xAI employee assured users that Grok would remain as uncensored as possible, but incidents like this raise questions about where moderation lines are actually drawn.

For now, Grok is back online with its blue checkmark, while its Gaza statement is gone. Whether the brief suspension was responsible moderation or clumsy damage control depends on perspective. Either way, it undercuts the image of an AI that “tells it like it is” and leaves open the possibility that another unfiltered remark could lead to the next suspension.

Meanwhile, Musk has been publicly criticizing Apple, accusing it of favoring ChatGPT over Grok and other AI bots on the App Store.

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