Elon Musk looks on as US President Donald Trump speaks at the US-Saudi Investment Forum at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC on Nov. 19, 2025.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images
Elon Musk‘s Grok chatbot blamed “lapses in safeguards” for the recent posting of artificial intelligence-generated sexualized pictures of children.
In a social media post to X on Friday, Grok said it was “urgently fixing” the issue and called child sexual abuse material “illegal and prohibited.” Grok also acknowledged that a company could face criminal or civil penalties for failing to prevent this content once informed.
Users on X raised concerns in recent days over explicit content of minors being generated using the Grok tool, which included children wearing minimal clothing.
A post from xAI technical staff member Parsa Tajik also acknowledged the issue.
“Hey! Thanks for flagging. The team is looking into further tightening our gaurdrails,” Tajik said in a post.
Musk’s xAI sent an autoreply to a request for comment: “Legacy Media Lies.”
The proliferation of AI image-generating platforms since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022 has raised concerns over content manipulation and online safety across the board. It’s also contributed to an increasing number of platforms that have produced deepfake nudes of actual people.
While other chatbots have faced similar issues, Grok has repeatedly landed in hot water for misuse.
In May, the company faced backlash for responding to user queries with unsolicited comments about “white genocide” in South Africa. Two months later, Grok posted antisemitic comments and praised Adolf Hitler.
Despite the stumbles, Grok has continued to land partnerships and deals.
The Department of Defense added Grok to its AI agents platform last month and the tool is the main chatbot for prediction betting platforms Polymarket and Kalshi.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/02/musk-grok-ai-bot-safeguard-sexualized-images-children.html
