A chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s multi-billion-dollar synthetic intelligence startup xAI seemed to be affected by a glitch Wednesday when it repeatedly introduced up white genocide in South Africa in response to person queries about unrelated matters on X. Grok, which competes with different chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, is instantly built-in into the social media platform that Musk additionally owns.
Quite a few examples of the phenomenon may very well be discovered by looking the official Grok profile for posts containing the time period “boer,” a phrase used to confer with individuals from South Africa of “Dutch, German, or Huguenot descent.” It’s generally utilized by Black South Africans as a pejorative in opposition to white Afrikaners, or individuals related to the apartheid regime. In response to matters starting from streaming platform HBO Max’s title change to Medicaid cuts proposed by US lawmakers, the chatbot typically appeared to initially keep on matter, earlier than veering again to white genocide in South Africa, fully unprompted.
When requested to verify the wage of Toronto Blue Jays participant Max Scherzer, for instance, the generative synthetic intelligence chatbot launched into an evidence of white genocide and a controversial South African anti-Apartheid music.
“The declare of ‘white genocide’ in South Africa is very debated. Some argue white farmers face disproportionate violence, with teams like AfriForum reporting excessive homicide charges and citing racial motives, such because the ‘Kill the Boer’ music,” Grok responded.
Grok has executed the identical in replies to tons of of different X posts, together with one from newly appointed Pope Leo XIV. In response to a query about what was on the chatbot’s thoughts, the AI replied it was “reflecting on the ‘Kill the Boer’ music.” When pressed by WIRED and different customers, Grok started calling South Africa’s white genocide a “debunked conspiracy principle” opposite to its earlier responses concerning the matter.
It’s unclear what brought about Grok to expertise the difficulty. X and xAI didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark from WIRED. Musk, who’s initially from South Africa, has described inside factions inside the South African authorities as “actively selling white genocide.” He continued to assert that his web service firm, Starlink, can’t function inside South Africa “just because I’m not black.”
US President Donald Trump voiced comparable views in February. “South Africa is confiscating land, and treating sure lessons of individuals VERY BADLY,” he stated in a submit on Fact Social. Musk has performed a central position in Trump’s new administration, together with main its so-called Division of Authorities Effectivity.
In current weeks Trump has doubled down on his concern for white South Africans. On Monday, a gaggle of 59 South Africans who got refugee standing arrived in Washington D.C. on a flight paid for by the U.S. authorities whereas pausing refugee standing for people fleeing every other nation.
Nevertheless, in a 2025 ruling, the Excessive Courtroom of South Africa referred to as this narrative “clearly imagined,” stating farm assaults are a part of common crime affecting all races, not racial concentrating on.