Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, says an “unauthorized modification” led its Grok chatbot to post unsolicited claims on social media about the persecution and “genocide” of white people in South Africa.

Grok's developer has said an "unauthorized modification" took place after users reported the chatbot founded by Elon Musk was serving up mentions of "white genocide" in South Africa without prompting, when asked about unrelated topics. xAI, which developed the bot for integration on X, has launched an inquiry.

If you have a question for Grok today, there's a chance X's AI chatbot replied by talking about "white genocide" in South Africa, a controversial talking point in far-right circles.

Much like its creator, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok was preoccupied with South African racial politics on social media this week, posting unsolicited claims about the persecution and “genocide” of white people.

Musk's artificial intelligence startup blamed the fiasco on 'unauthorised modifications' to its prompt system.

The announcement was made at Microsoft’s Build developer conference on Monday, and was notable given Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI. Musk founded xAI, the startup behind Grok, but he has also been locked in a feud with OpenAI since stepping down from its board in the late 2010s, citing disagreements over its leadership direction.

Elon Musk's AI chatbot, Grok, developed by xAI, ignited a firestorm on 14 May 2025, when it repeatedly posted about 'white genocide' in South Africa in response to unrelated X queries.

Steven Adler breaks down recent erratic behavior from leading chatbots. It has been an odd few weeks for generative AI systems, with ChatGPT suddenly turning sycophantic, and Grok, xAI’s chatbot, becoming obsessed with South Africa.