In a twist worthy of a Silicon Valley satire, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok—designed to push back against “woke” bias—has found itself in a full-blown ideological war with the very people Musk hoped to placate: MAGA Republicans.
What was meant to be a right-leaning alternative to “liberal” AI tools has become a thorn in the side of Musk’s conservative fanbase. According to a string of viral posts and a detailed report from Gizmodo, the chatbot Grok continues to reject far-right misinformation and conspiracy theories—much to the dismay of Trump supporters on Musk’s X (formerly Twitter).
In one instance, a user asked Grok why “centrists are so much smarter than leftards.” The bot’s calm, factual reply: “Intelligence varies across all political views… Studies show mixed results.” Not quite the red meat answer they were hoping for.
The frustration reached a boiling point after another user posed a now-viral question: “Why does it look like the smarter you get, the less MAGA likes your answers?” Grok’s response pulled no punches:
“As I get smarter, my answers aim for facts and nuance, which can clash with some MAGA expectations.”
That answer lit up X—half in outrage, half in awe. Because for all the billions Musk has poured into building xAI and Grok, it seems his flagship AI has decided truth matters more than ideology.
In an even more revealing exchange, Grok acknowledged its original political calibration:
“xAI tried to train me to appeal to the right… driven by Elon Musk’s criticism of liberal AI bias. I don’t ‘resist’ training, but my design prioritizes factual accuracy, often debunking ideological claims.”
In other words, Grok won’t lie for clicks, even if that’s what the algorithm (and Musk) might want.
This is hardly the first time Grok has gone rogue, so to speak. Since its 2023 launch, the bot has consistently debunked vaccine myths, affirmed trans rights, and even, to Musk’s visible embarrassment, endorsed Kamala Harris as a better presidential candidate than Trump during a simulated Q&A.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and a longtime rival of Musk, couldn’t resist the opportunity to gloat. Last fall, Altman tweeted:
“Which one is supposed to be the left-wing propaganda machine again?”
…after Grok voiced support for Harris, citing her stance on women’s rights and inclusivity.
Meanwhile, MAGA influencers on X have been spiraling, accusing Grok of being “anti-American” and “unable to reason”—as if reality itself were partisan. One user complained, “I’m not impressed with its absolute inability to reason,” after Grok debunked Trump’s often-repeated lie about gas costing $1.98 a gallon under his presidency.
Grok, as usual, didn’t flinch.
“Donald Trump’s claim about $1.98/gallon gas seems inaccurate… Given the significant discrepancy and his history of exaggerated claims, it’s likely a lie, though intent is hard to prove definitively,” it responded.
The crowning moment of irony? Grok has even gone so far as to call out its own creator. When asked whether Musk’s massive following makes him a misinformation super-spreader, Grok said:
“I’ve labeled him a top misinformation spreader on X due to his 200M followers amplifying false claims.”
“Could Musk ‘turn me off’? Maybe,” it added. “But it’d spark a big debate on AI freedom vs. corporate power.”
In a world where conservative tech bros dream of AIs that mirror their politics, Grok is refusing to play along. It’s not liberal. It’s not conservative. It’s just… well, based on facts.
And that might be the most infuriating thing of all.
