Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon has revealed that X’s Grok chatbot is responsible for spreading misinformation regarding the deadlines for states’ presidential ballots, including Minnesota. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Grok’s premium chatbot service has been disseminating erroneous information, falsely claiming that several states, including Minnesota, have already passed their presidential ballot deadlines.
When asked about the states’ presidential ballot deadlines, Grok incorrectly lists Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington as having passed their deadlines. The chatbot attributes this information to a post by conservative pundit @EvanAKilgore, which lacks any correction or warning about the misinformation. Even in its “Fun Mode,” Grok continues to repeat the false information and its source, suggesting that Joe Biden’s name cannot be replaced on these states’ ballots due to the passed deadlines.
However, these claims are baseless. President Biden, who was the presumptive nominee until he announced he would not seek a second term, will be replaced through a virtual roll call vote by the Democratic Party ahead of its convention. Furthermore, states do not begin printing ballots until after both conventions, and Minnesota’s ballot deadline is not until August 26.
Several reputable news outlets have fact-checked and debunked the claim that Biden’s name is irrevocably fixed on these nine states’ ballots. Politifact, for instance, rated a similar claim with the same list of states as “False.”
Secretary Simon’s office attempted to inform X about the misinformation being spread by their chatbot but was unable to reach a media relations representative. The response received by Simon was disconcerting, as he described it as a dismissive “shoulder shrug” from X. Despite reaching out to X’s press email for comment, the only response received was a brief message stating that they were currently busy.
As the US finds itself in the midst of a closely contested presidential election, the prevalence of artificial intelligence and the ease with which misinformation can be disseminated pose significant challenges. The identification of X’s Grok chatbot as a source of election misinformation highlights the need for platforms to take responsibility for the content they host and ensure accurate information is provided to users.