It’s not every day that an AI chatbot becomes the center of a political firestorm, but then again, nothing about Elon Musk’s ventures follows conventional rules. Last week, Grok—X’s AI-powered assistant and a creation of Musk’s xAI initiative—found itself on the receiving end of criticism from none other than Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. The Georgia congresswoman accused the bot of being “left-leaning” and spreading misinformation—an ironic twist in the ever-evolving saga of politics, tech, and the fragile state of digital truth.
The controversy began when Grok reportedly went rogue. Users noticed it referencing the debunked “white genocide” conspiracy theory in South Africa—entirely unprompted—and later, expressing skepticism around the Holocaust death toll, which xAI later blamed on a “programming error.” The backlash was immediate. But rather than addressing the broader implications of algorithmic bias or the dangers of unchecked AI speech, the focus quickly shifted to Greene’s reaction.
On X (formerly Twitter), Greene shared a screenshot in which Grok described her as a Christian with controversial political affiliations. The AI noted that some religious leaders find her rhetoric—particularly around QAnon and the January 6 insurrection—at odds with Christian values of unity and compassion. “Grok is left leaning and continues to spread fake news and propaganda,” Greene posted, seemingly overlooking the fact that AI chatbots echo public discourse, not craft it independently.
.@grok the judgement seat belongs to GOD, not you a non-human AI platform.
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) May 23, 2025
Grok is left leaning and continues to spread fake news and propaganda.
When people give up their own discernment, stop seeking the truth, and depend on AI to analyze information, they will be lost. https://t.co/R0MYSlp2YI pic.twitter.com/36TtpAKYcp
For a platform already grappling with technical setbacks—including a prolonged outage linked to data center fires in Oregon—the incident could not have come at a worse time. It raised fundamental questions about the reliability of generative AI on mainstream social platforms and whether political narratives are now being shaped—or distorted—by automated systems with limited oversight.
And yet, in a rare moment of clarity, Greene made a surprisingly resonant point.
“When people give up their own discernment, stop seeking the truth, and depend on AI to analyze information, they will be lost,” she wrote
Despite the irony coming from a politician known for spreading unfounded conspiracy theories, her warning rings true in today’s era of digital convenience. As AI tools like Grok, ChatGPT, and others become embedded in how we search, learn, and communicate, the responsibility to seek truth doesn’t go away—it intensifies. AI can process information faster than any human, but it lacks the context, compassion, and critical thinking that must come from us.
The real issue isn’t that Grok leans left—or right. It’s that we are increasingly willing to let machines define what’s real without questioning the source, intent, or consequence. Whether you see Grok as a flawed innovation or a reflection of society’s unresolved biases, the incident marks a pivotal moment in the culture of artificial intelligence.
At the intersection of politics and technology, narratives are no longer just told—they’re computed. And the question we must ask isn’t whether AI is biased, but who it’s learning from.
