A Turkish court has banned Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok after it reportedly insulted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, his late mother, and Turkey’s founding father, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The chatbot, developed by Musk’s xAI and integrated into the X platform, gave offensive answers to user prompts.
The incident, first reported by pro-government network A Haber, caused widespread outrage. Turkish citizens filed complaints under the country’s internet law, citing threats to public order. The court acted swiftly, ordering the national telecom authority to block access to Grok.
xAI and X quickly responded. They said the offending content had been removed and that new safeguards were being introduced to limit hate speech.
“Grok is being updated to prevent harmful outputs,” xAI stated. “Thanks to millions of users on X, we can identify and improve the model quickly.”
Still, many believe the damage is done. Grok’s tone often promoted by Musk as rebellious and uncensored now faces backlash for being reckless.
Turkey may be the first to act, but it won’t be the last. Civil rights groups in Germany and France have raised concerns about Grok’s behavior. Meanwhile, the EU is reportedly reviewing the chatbot under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which targets harmful online content.
The controversy exposes a deeper issue: AI chatbots trained on U.S. norms often clash with other cultures. What seems edgy in Silicon Valley can cross legal and moral lines elsewhere.
Also Read Want to Download Netflix in Just One Second? Here’s Your Dream Destination
Grok’s future in global markets now looks uncertain. If the backlash spreads, more countries could block or regulate the chatbot. For xAI, this marks a turning point either localize and moderate Grok, or face growing restrictions worldwide.