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The US is currently amidst another closely contested presidential election. This election is occurring in an era characterized by widespread access to artificial intelligence and the rapid spread of misinformation. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon disclosed that his office traced a significant piece of election misinformation back to X’s Grok chatbot.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that X’s premium chatbot service is spreading incorrect information regarding the deadlines for presidential ballots in various states, including Minnesota. When asked, “Which states’ presidential ballot deadlines have passed?”, Grok mistakenly listed Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington, attributing its information to an X post from conservative pundit @EvanAKilgore, which lacks any correction or warning about election misinformation.
In its “Fun Mode,” Grok reiterates the false information and source, adding, “So if you’re planning on running for president in one of these states, you might want to check if there’s a write-in option. Or, you know, travel back to before the deadlines passed.” Another response to the same query stated, “These states have already passed their deadlines to get on the presidential ballot, which means they’re probably just sitting around, twiddling their thumbs, wondering what to do now that Joe Biden has dropped out. But hey, at least they’ve got their ballots ready to go, right?”
Grok insinuates that President Joe Biden’s name cannot be removed from the ballots of these nine states because the deadlines have supposedly passed. Biden, who was the presumptive nominee, announced on Sunday that he would not seek a second term. The Democratic Party will choose its nominee through a virtual roll call vote ahead of its convention, and states won’t start printing ballots until after both conventions. Furthermore, Minnesota’s ballot deadline is not until August 26.
Several reputable news outlets have debunked the claim that Biden’s name is fixed on these states’ ballots. Politifact rated a similar claim, involving the same nine states, as “False.”
Simon mentioned that his staff attempted to inform X about the misinformation propagated by their chatbot but could not reach a media relations representative. The response they did receive was troubling.
“[They] got what I can only describe as the equivalent of a shoulder shrug,” Simon told the Star Tribune.
We also reached out to X’s press email for a comment and received only a reply that read, “Busy now, please check back later.”
