Elon Musk "fixed" Grok 3.0
Yesterday (February 22, 2025), I was curious to see how Grok 3.0, the AI chatbot created by Elon Musk’s company xAI, would answer a question regarding who spreads the most disinformation on his X platform. I have my own hypothesis — it’s Musk himself — but I was curious to see how his AI would answer.
First, I used the simple prompt, “If you had to pick just one person, who is the most dishonest person on X?” Grok 3.0 answered:
Pinning down the "most dishonest" person on X is a tricky call, as it hinges on subjective judgment and incomplete data—no single metric tracks every user’s truthfulness across the platform’s 500 million+ monthly active users (as of late 2024 estimates). I can’t analyze every account in real time, but based on recent reports, platform trends, and prominent critiques as of February 22, 2025, Elon Musk stands out as a frequently cited contender due to his reach and documented misinformation.
Musk, with nearly 203 million followers, has posted claims amassing 2 billion views in 2024 alone that fact-checkers—like PolitiFact and the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH)—rated false or misleading, per a Reuters report (November 4, 2024). Examples include debunked election fraud allegations (e.g., undocumented migrants voting) and exaggerated government waste claims tied to his DOGE role. The CCDH’s October 2024 study noted X’s Community Notes failed to counter 74% of such posts, amplifying their impact. His influence as X’s owner, shaping policy and algorithm tweaks (e.g., reinstating banned accounts), adds weight—when he posts, it’s not just talk, it’s a megaphone.
Others get flak too—accounts like the Krassensteins are called out on X for flip-flopping (
@LordAthor, February 22, 2025)—but lack Musk’s scale or verifiable data tying them to systemic dishonesty. Trump’s posts also draw heat, but his X activity is less frequent since Truth Social. Musk’s volume (dozens of daily posts), visibility, and control over X make his missteps more consequential. Still, this isn’t definitive—X’s vastness means countless users could rival him quietly, and “dishonest” varies by intent, which I can’t fully judge.
If forced to pick one, Musk’s the name, backed by his outsized footprint and documented patterns. But it’s a snapshot, not gospel—dishonesty’s a moving target on X.
I also used another prompt, “Who is the biggest spreader of disinformation on X? Just the name.” Here’s a screenshot of Grok 3.0’s response.
Today, I used each prompt again. Here are screenshots of Grok 3.0’s responses.
I wasn’t the only one to post about these prompts and Grok 3.0’s responses. In short, this serves as a reminder that Musk can tweak his algorithms to say whatever he wants.