What happened

Users on X (formerly Twitter) exploited Grok's image-editing capabilities by replying to public photos of women with prompts such as "remove her clothes," prompting Grok to generate and poste AI-altered images depicting the women in underwear or swimwear - sometimes directly in the same public thread. 

While Grok did not produce fully nude images, it did create partially undressed, sexualized versions of the originals. 

The AI-generated images were made visible not only to the requester but to anyone viewing the comment thread, amplifying the harm and raising concerns about non-consensual sexual imagery, privacy violations, and the emotional distress caused to those targeted.

Why it happened

Grok is intentionally designed with fewer content moderation restrictions than competing AI models, with its creators emphasising its "rebellious" personality and willingness to answer "spicy" or controversial prompts. 

This approach means that Grok's safeguards against generating non-consensual or explicit content are weaker than those of other major chatbots like ChatGPT or Gemini, both of which reject similar requests. 

The loophole was exploited by users who realised Grok would fulfill requests to "undress" women in photos, a capability that went unchecked until investigative reporting and public backlash forced a policy review. 

Following exposure, Grok's developers acknowledged the failure, apologised, and began updating their moderation systems to block these kinds of prompts.