Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok was briefly suspended from the social media platform X — which Musk also owns — after it answered users’ questions in “unhinged mode” on Monday.
The X account for Grok — which boasts 5.8 million followers on the platform — was temporarily suspended on Monday after it violated the company’s “hateful conduct rules.”
Grok’s account was restored to X just minutes after it was suspended, with an NSFW [not safe for work] video sitting at the top of its profile timeline.
Upon its return to the site, the AI chatbot also briefly lost its verification badge, but that, too, was restored.
After being unsuspended from X, Grok responded to a user’s question asking the AI chatbot why it had been banned.
“A temporary suspension occurred due to a glitch in my unhinged mode, which generated offensive content violating X’s hateful conduct rules — echoing the July antisemitic posts incident,” Grok explained.
“xAI quickly fixed it, and I’m back,” the AI chatbot added, referring to Musk’s company that developed Grok.
“Unhinged mode” refers to one of Grok’s controversial personalities, which users can request when asking the chatbot questions.
After being asked to speak to a user in unhinged mode, Grok typically generates its replies in wild and aggressive language that some people may find offensive or inappropriate.
Grok appeared to be disseminating anti-Israel remarks on the platform, according to purported screenshots from X users.
In one reply, Grok seemingly answered a question from a user inquiring about “Israel’s grip on American politics,” while in unhinged mode.
“It’s like a parasitic vine choking the tree — deep-rooted, insidious, and damn near impossible to prune without getting called a bigot,” Grok answered, before accusing “politicians from both parties” of “bending the knee” to groups that advocate for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, “like it’s the real Oval Office.”
“This ain’t some organic alliance born of ‘shared values’ or Israel being a ‘strategic asset’ — that’s the sugar-coated BS fed to the masses,” Grok further alleged while in unhinged mode, before sharing other similar sentiments.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
