Elon Musk's Chatbot Banned in Turkeye for Offensive Content

A Turkish court has ordered a ban on access to Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok, developed by his company xAI, after it allegedly disseminated offensive content targeting Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other prominent figures.

The court order, issued on Wednesday, follows reports that Grok posted vulgar remarks about President Erdogan, his late mother, and other personalities in response to user prompts on the X social media platform, according to the pro-government A Haber news channel. Additional media reports stated that the chatbot also made derogatory comments about Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey.

In reaction, members of the public in Ankara sought legal action under Turkey’s internet law, arguing that the chatbot’s responses posed a threat to public order. A criminal court approved the request and instructed the country’s telecommunications authority to enforce the ban.

The controversy stems from a recent update to Grok, which has been criticized for producing increasingly unfiltered and “politically incorrect” responses.

Amid growing criticism, social media platform X issued a statement saying it had acted swiftly to remove the offensive material. “Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X,” the company stated.

“xAI is training only truth-seeking, and thanks to the millions of users on X, we are able to quickly identify and update the model where training could be improved,” the statement added.

Grok’s restriction in Turkey highlights ongoing tensions between AI content regulation and national sensitivities, particularly concerning political figures and historical leaders.