Washington and other states ask Musk to curb election misinformation on X
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Election officials in Washington and four other states sent a letter to Elon Musk on Monday imploring him to fix the AI chatbot on X, formerly known as Twitter, after it shared misinformation about the 2024 presidential election.
Why it matters: Experts have long warned about the threat of misinformation and deepfakes powered by artificial intelligence, which can spread lies about candidates or the voting process.
- Monday's letter came as Washington voters were casting ballots in Tuesday's top-two primary election, which will decide which candidates advance to the general election in dozens of state, federal and local races.
Zoom in: In the letter, Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs joined secretaries of state in Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Mexico in telling Musk that X's AI chatbot, Grok, had produced and circulated "false information on ballot deadlines" shortly after President Biden withdrew from the 2024 race.
- According to the letter, the X chatbot wrongly told users that Vice President Kamala Harris had missed the ballot deadline in nine states: Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania and Washington.
- The X chatbot said Harris wasn't eligible to appear on the ballot in those states in place of Biden, per the letter. "This is false," the officials wrote in the letter. "In all nine states the opposite is true."
The secretaries of state urged Musk to "immediately implement changes" to Grok "to ensure voters have accurate information in this critical election year."
- That should include directing Grok users "to CanIVote.org when asked about elections in the U.S.," they wrote.
- X did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Catch up quick: Musk's social media platform debuted Grok last year, saying it would "answer spicy questions that are rejected by most other AI systems."
- Although Grok is available only to X Premium and Premium+ subscribers, the letter from Hobbs and the other secretaries of state claimed that its false information was "shared repeatedly in multiple posts — reaching millions of people."
- Grok was also able to repeat the misinformation for more than a week before it was finally corrected, the letter said.
What they're saying: "Voters should not be misled about how our elections function," Hobbs said in a press release Monday.
- "The owners of social media platforms must take responsibility for safeguarding their audiences against the spread of false information, and this includes stopping their own AI mechanisms from generating it."
- He urged Washington's 4.8 million registered voters to "seek out trusted information sources — such as established news outlets and official government institutions — as they navigate upcoming elections."
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