Turkey Imposes Partial Ban on Elon Musk’s AI Bot ‘Grok’ After Insulting Posts About President Erdoğan
Turkish authorities launched a criminal investigation and restricted access to Grok’s content on X after the AI bot published offensive language targeting President Erdoğan and his late mother.
Watan-Turkish authorities have imposed a partial ban on the artificial intelligence chatbot Grok, integrated into Elon Musk’s social media platform X, following the publication of offensive posts targeting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his late mother, according to The Telegraph.
Grok, which functions as a smart assistant within the X platform, sparked outrage across Turkey after it issued an automated Turkish-language response referring to President Erdoğan as a “vile snake,” while also insulting his family and threatening to “wipe out his lineage.”
The post—which went viral on social media—was widely condemned as an unprecedented AI-based insult against a sitting head of state.
In response, the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office launched a formal investigation, since insulting the Turkish president is classified as a criminal offense punishable by up to four years in prison.
Following a court order, the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) restricted access to specific content produced by Grok for users inside Turkey, stating the move was intended to “protect public order.”
Turkey’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, confirmed that additional measures could follow:“If necessary, we will consider a full ban on the service.”
He also revealed that Turkish authorities plan to initiate discussions with X’s management to address the issue further.
Legal & Social Implications:
Yaman Akdeniz, a professor of internet law at Bilgi University in Istanbul, reported that authorities have identified around 50 posts by Grok as harmful or inciting hatred.
In a post on X, Akdeniz wrote:“Turkey has become the first country to directly censor Grok the AI.”
In recent years, Turkey has intensified its digital censorship, enacting laws that expand government control over social media platforms. These laws enable authorities to penalize individuals or organizations accused of spreading content considered insulting, disruptive, or dangerous to societal peace.
