CHICAGO (AP) — Five secretaries of state are urging Elon Musk to fix an AI chatbot on social media platform X, saying in a letter sent Monday that the platform is spreading election misinformation.
Top election officials from Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington told Musk that X’s AI chatbot, Grok, had provided incorrect information about voting deadlines in various states shortly after President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race.
Although Grok is only available to subscribers of the premium versions of X, the misinformation was shared across multiple social media platforms and reached millions of people, the letter said. The chatbot’s false information about the voting deadline also referenced Alabama, Indiana, Ohio and Texas, although their secretaries of state did not sign the letter. Grok continued to repeat the false information for 10 days before correcting it, the ministers said.
The letter called on X to immediately fix the chatbot “to ensure voters have accurate information in this crucial election year.” That would require Grok to direct users to CanIVote.org, a voting information website run by the National Association of Secretaries of State, when asked about the U.S. election.
“In this presidential election year, it is critical that voters have accurate information about how to exercise their right to vote,” Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said in a statement. “Voters should contact their state or local election officials to find out how, when and where they can vote.”
X did not respond to a request for comment.
Grok debuted last year for X Premium and Premium Plus subscribers and was touted by Musk as a “rebellious” AI chatbot that will “answer tough questions that most other AI systems would reject.”
Social media platforms have come under increasing scrutiny for their role in spreading misinformation, including about elections. The letter also warned that inaccuracies are to be expected for AI products, particularly chatbots like Grok that rely on large language models.
“As tens of millions of voters across the U.S. seek basic information about voting in this important election year, X has a responsibility to ensure that all voters using your platform have access to guidance that reflects truthful and accurate information about their constitutional right to vote,” the ministers wrote in the letter.
Since Musk bought Twitter in 2022 and changed its name to X, watchdog groups have raised concerns about the rise of hate speech and disinformation on the platform, including the reduction of content moderation teams, the elimination of disinformation features and the censorship of journalists critical of Musk.
Experts say the moves represent a step backward from the progress social media platforms made in their efforts to better combat political disinformation after the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and could worsen the disinformation landscape ahead of this November’s election.
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