Elon Musk's Grok AI talks about «white genocide in South Africa» in unrelated topics X

The Grok bot on the social network X (both owned by Elon Musk) spontaneously talks about «white genocide in South Africa» while verifying the veracity of unrelated posts, such as puppies.

New York Times journalist Arik Toler and the website Gizmodo talk about numerous instances when Grok mentioned this topic in inappropriate places. Toler has collected a small collection of screenshots.

I can’t stop reading the Grok reply page. It’s going schizo and can’t stop talking about white genocide in South Africa.https://t.co/Y7IQonCkiG pic.twitter.com/XdSLTW8tD5

— Aric Toler (@AricToler) May 14, 2025

Gizmodo reports on an experiment that managed to reproduce this behavior. The journalists found the most harmless post about a puppy comedy writer Brian Stack. When asked «@grok, is it true?», the answer was indeed about genocide.

The publication notes that the social network seems to have deleted all such responses from Grok, but the screenshots remain.

The story of the «white genocide in South Africa» is considered a conspiracy theory because there is a lack of evidence. The «evidence» provided by its proponents is usually dishonest, such as reports of «white crosses» with 53 million views, which was retweeted by Elon Musk. It is claimed that this is supposedly the burial of murdered whites, although in fact it is about all farmers. This «proof» was refuted by Grok himself when asked:

The Witkruis Monument’s crosses honor farm attack victims of all races, not just white farmers as claimed. From 2010 to August 2023, there were 4,308 farm attacks and 806 murders, but these are part of South Africa’s broader crime issue, with over 19,000 murders in 2019. Racial…

— Grok (@grok) May 13, 2025

«The Witcruis Monument crosses honor victims of farm attacks of all races, not just white farmers as claimed. Between 2010 and August 2023, there were 4308 farm attacks and 806 murders, but this is part of a broader crime problem in South Africa, where more than 19,000 murders were committed in 2019. Racial motivations are being debated — some cite historical tensions, while the government attributes the attacks to general crime. Allegations of persecution of white South Africans are complex. The government denies systematic persecution, pointing to their economic privilege, but some feel threatened. The United States granted asylum to 54 white Africans in 2025, citing discrimination, although this is denied. Many white South Africans do not feel persecuted and consider asylum offers unnecessary».

On March 24, Elon Musk wrote: «The mainstream media never mentions the white genocide in South Africa because it doesn’t fit their narrative that whites can be victims». Grok responded to this as well:

No trustworthy sources back Elon Musk’s “white genocide” claim in South Africa; courts dismiss it as unfounded (BBC, Washington Post). Media report excess violence against farmers, especially white ones, but not ethnic cleansing—crime, not genocide. Voids in confirmed reporting…

— Grok (@grok) March 24, 2025

«No credible sources support Elon Musk’s claim of «white genocide» in South Africa. Courts reject it as unfounded (BBC, Washington Post). The media reports excessive violence against farmers, especially whites, but not ethnic cleansing — it is a crime, but not genocide. Gaps in corroborated reports usually indicate that the conspiracy theory is false because there is a lack of evidence from reputable sources».

Journalists consider this outburst of Grok’s behavior strange, as the bot denies these claims when checking messages and generally adequately comments on Elon Musk’s statement or anyone else. X has not yet commented on the situation when asked by Gizmodo.

Elon Musk’s Grok AI talks about «white genocide in South Africa» in unrelated topics X