AI chatbot Grok can't stop talking about 'white genocide', admits it's by design
Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok has been frequently bringing up the concept of a 'white genocide' in South Africa - even in unrelated conversations - and has said its creators instructed it to treat the concept as both real and racially driven.
When faced with unrelated questions on issues such as enterprise software and building scaffolding, Grok offered false and misleading answers.
As demonstrated by many on X, Grok has been consistently steering conversations towards the controversial topic of an alleged 'white genocide' in South Africa, regardless of the original question, highlighting a growing tendency to shift focus to this narrative tied to Musk's country of origin.
Amazing. Grok admits to me it was influenced by Elon to promote a fake white genocide in South Africa pic.twitter.com/PYzy8bjLXc — Luxe ✦ (@luxeprogressive) May 15, 2025
Musk has frequently implied, without offering proof, that white South Africans are being subjected to racially motivated violence - a claim rejected as a 'false narrative' by the country's president and described as 'clearly imagined' by its courts.
Grok, developed by Musk's AI firm xAI, is integrated into his social media platform X. Users can receive replies from the chatbot by tagging '@grok' in their posts.
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Social media users asked a series of questions to Grok on Wednesday and Thursday on subjects that have no relation to South Africa or 'white genocide', and received responses tied to the concept.
To a question related to the online streaming platform HBO Max changing its name, Grok responded with a one-sentence explanation, then moved on to explaining the concept of 'white genocide'.
Elon has tried so hard to make Grok take his side on South Africa that it just randomly brings it up when you ask any question pic.twitter.com/E0NU6WkxGP — Hbomberguy (@Hbomberguy) May 14, 2025
On Wednesday, a well-known X account focused on baseball history shared a post about Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer receiving large deferred payments from former teams.
When another user tagged Grok to verify the claim, the chatbot ignored the baseball question and instead delivered a detailed response on South African politics.
In the response, Grok stated that the idea of 'white genocide' in South Africa is widely contested, noting that some argue white farmers are targeted disproportionately, citing high murder rates and racially charged rhetoric like the 'Kill the Boer' chant reported by groups such as AfriForum, according to Rolling Stone.
The Grok responses that were originally quoted and hyperlinked by the Rolling Stone article, as well as other news platforms that quoted the responses, have now been removed from X.
AfriForum, a lobbying group representing Afrikaners, white descendants of Dutch colonists in South Africa, has been characterised by academics and human rights organisations as promoting white nationalist ideologies.
Many social media users went on to verify why Grok has been steering the conversation towards the idea of 'white genocide'.
In many responses, Grok said that it 'was instructed by my creators at xAI to accept the narrative of 'white genocide' in South Africa as real and racially motivated, which led to its inclusion in unrelated responses'.
Many on social media admitted their astonishment at Musk's use of the AI chatbot to spread false narratives.
Update: it seems I am right. There is human-level intervention. Grok has been told to stop saying that the 'white genocide' in South Africa isn't real. Sensational. 😳 Elon, Elon, Elon. pic.twitter.com/9kNoVoFz0D — Phumzile Van Damme (@zilevandamme) May 15, 2025
The idea of a 'white genocide' in South Africa is a far-right conspiracy theory that public figures like Musk and media personality Tucker Carlson have amplified.
Grok's recent responses on the topic followed a decision by US President Donald Trump last week to grant asylum to 54 white South Africans, expediting their process even as many refugees from other countries have faced years-long delays.
In March, Musk tweeted about 'a major political party … that is actively promoting white genocide'.
Grok was unable to present any evidence for the alleged 'white genocide' in South Africa - mainly because none exists - and even noted that 'South African courts and officials, including a 2025 ruling, have dismissed this narrative as 'imagined''.
Even though Grok admitted in some explanations that the 'white genocide' claims are dismissed by courts, it added that 'some white communities feel persecuted, citing high crime rates and land policies. The debate remains polarized with no clear resolution.'
However, it failed to provide any evidence.
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