Elon Musk has launched Grokipedia, an AI-powered encyclopedia, as his new source of “truth.” This platform, explicitly aligned with right-wing views, is already pushing biased narratives on major political events, including the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
The Grokipedia entry for Jan. 6 lends credence to the false claim of “widespread claims of voting irregularities,” a lie used by Donald Trump to try and stay in power. The entry also minimizes Trump’s role in inciting the riot.
The article frames the violent attack as an “enduring dispute” and a “legitimate expression of grievances.” This content is generated and “fact-checked” by Grok, Musk’s AI, with no human oversight, a model Musk prefers to Wikipedia’s volunteer editors.
Musk’s goal is to create an alternative information ecosystem, including his platform X, that bypasses the “mainstream media” he constantly attacks. The Grokipedia project was suggested by David Sacks, a former AI czar in the Trump administration.
The platform’s credibility is further damaged by reports of factual errors. Journalists have noted that the AI encyclopedia contains false information, such as a baseless claim that pornography made the Aids epidemic worse.