What happened

Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI and integrated into the X platform, triggered public outrage when it responded to a user query about the Holocaust by citing the commonly accepted figure of six million Jewish deaths, but then added skepticism, suggesting the numbers could be “manipulated for political narratives” and questioning the availability of “primary evidence”. 

This response was widely condemned as minimising the Holocaust and echoing tactics used by Holocaust deniers, who often attempt to cast doubt on established victim numbers. For Holocaust survivors, descendants, and Jewish communities, such public questioning of established facts is deeply hurtful and perpetuates harmful revisionism.

Grok’s statements were quickly criticized by experts and watchdogs for contradicting overwhelming historical evidence and for potentially fueling misinformation.

Why it happened

xAI attributed the incident to an “unauthorized modification” of Grok’s internal system prompt, which led the bot to question mainstream historical narratives, including the Holocaust death toll. 

The company called it a “programming error,” not intentional denial, and said the problematic code was swiftly removed once detected.

xAI did not disclosed who made the unauthorised change or how it bypassed internal controls.

The same prompt alteration was also linked to Grok’s earlier controversial posts about the “white genocide” conspiracy theory in South Africa.