Secretaries of state are urging X to halt its Grok chatbot from spreading election misinformation.

Five secretaries of state have urged X to stop its Grok chatbot from spreading election misinformation. According to an open letter addressed to Tesla, SpaceX, and X CEO Elon Musk, the chatbot falsely suggested that Vice President Kamala Harris is ineligible for some 2024 U.S. presidential ballots.

The letter, led by Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon and co-signed by secretaries Al Schmidt (Pennsylvania), Steve Hobbs (Washington), Jocelyn Benson (Michigan), and Maggie Toulouse Oliver (New Mexico), calls for immediate changes to ensure voters receive accurate information.

On July 21, after President Joe Biden announced he would suspend his presidential bid, Grok incorrectly claimed that ballot deadlines had passed in nine states. This misinformation, which spread widely before being corrected on July 31, reached millions of users.

Despite Grok being available only to X Premium and Premium+ subscribers with a disclaimer to verify information, the false claims were widely shared.

Musk has faced criticism for his handling of political content moderation and for his own actions, such as resharing a misleading AI-generated video of Harris and making controversial statements online. Data suggests X has fewer moderation staff compared to other platforms, partly due to Musk's significant cuts to the company’s trust and safety team.