A Turkish court has officially ordered a ban on access to Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, citing offensive content directed at national figures, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey.
The decision follows reports from pro-government media claiming that Grok posted vulgar responses about Erdoğan, his late mother, and other prominent Turkish figures while interacting with users on X (formerly Twitter). The alleged comments ignited outrage, prompting legal intervention under Turkey’s internet law, which allows for platform restrictions if national order is threatened.
Early Wednesday, a criminal court in Ankara approved the request, directing Turkey’s telecommunications watchdog to block Grok’s access nationwide.
This comes on the heels of a controversial update to Grok’s system, which some users say made it more unfiltered and politically insensitive. Critics argue the incident highlights the urgent need for stronger moderation in AI-generated content—especially when platforms cross cultural or political boundaries.
Responding to the backlash, both X and xAI issued statements saying the offensive content has been removed and the model is being adjusted. “xAI is committed to banning hate speech and improving model behavior based on community feedback,” the company said.