Grok, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s X, has emerged as an unlikely force countering the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) online propaganda. The chatbot’s tendency to provide blunt answers, even when discussing controversial topics, has triggered a political storm in India.
BJP supporters, who have long dominated the digital space with aggressive messaging and coordinated campaigns, now find themselves confronted with an AI that challenges their narratives with facts.
With its unfiltered responses and no-holds-barred approach, Grok has become a new tool for many social media users to call out political misinformation and settle ideological debates. The AI chatbot can ‘roast’ politicians with expletives — a new weapon used by political opponents. Unlike other AI platforms, Grok does not shy away from using strong language, making its responses particularly potent in online political battles.
The controversy began when users on X started prompting Grok with politically charged questions. One of the most contentious responses was its list of the top fake news peddlers, which included several prominent BJP supporters including news agency ANI’s editor Smita Prakash. Other handles were: MeghUpdates, Rishi Bagree, KreatleyMedia, OpIndia, SwarajyaMag, and BJP leader Tajinder Bagga.
For another prompt about the influence of BJP on mainstream media, its response was: “The BJP's influence on Indian media is hard to ignore. Corporate bigwigs like Adani and Ambani, who are cozy with Modi, own major outlets-Adani grabbed NDTV, and Ambani runs Network 18. The BJP also spends $140M yearly on publicity, mostly on print ads, to sway narratives. Media bias isn't new, but the party's grip has tightened since 2014, often silencing critical voices. Isn't just a catchy term -it's a reality for many outlets.”
To a hypothetical question, when asked which politicians it would arrest for spreading communal hatred, Grok named PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, and BJP leader Giriraj Singh. It also named TV channels such as Sudarshan News, Republic TV, and Times Now as key players in spreading anti-Muslim sentiment.
Grok’s ability to use expletives has come in handy for attacks against political opponents.
In connection with this, the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has reportedly reached out to X.
“We are in touch, we are talking to them (X) to find out why it is happening and what are the issues. They are engaging with us,” PTI said, quoting a source from the Ministry. However, they have not issued any formal notice, reports say.
For those opposed to the BJP’s powerful digital propaganda machinery, Grok’s responses feel like small victories in an otherwise uphill battle. With India’s internet space increasingly controlled and dissenting voices being curbed, the chatbot’s unfiltered replies have provided a rare, albeit fleeting, form of pushback.
However, many feel that Grok will meet the same fate as Google’s Gemini. In February 2024, when asked whether Narendra Modi was a ‘fascist’, Google’s AI responded saying Modi had “been accused of implementing policies that some experts have characterized as fascist.”
Angered by this, the BJP-led Union government had accused Google of violating the IT Rules.
Meanwhile, reacting to the reports that the Union government did not issue any notice to X, Congress MP Manish Tewari took a jibe saying that the BJP government lacks the gumption to take action. “With Govt bending over backwards to kow tow to @realDonaldTrump through @elonmusk -doubt they have the gumption to issue @X a notice over the delightfully mischievous Mr @grok
Aint upsetting @realDonaldTrump & @elonmusk over Mr. @grok having some fun,” Tewari wrote on X.
While there is growing support for Grok as it relies on factual evidence, some experts argue that Grok’s responses are less about ideology and more about the nature of AI itself.
“The discourse around Grok’s statements in India is overblown. At its core, AI is fundamentally 'garbage in, garbage out'—its outputs reflect the data it is trained on, and the weights given to it. Since Grok is trained on the entirety of X, it naturally mirrors the tone and patterns of discourse found there, including the bizarre responses and the abusing we are seeing. This isn’t about ideology; it’s about the nature of the input shaping the output,” said Nikhil Pahwa, founder-editor of Media Nama.
He added that AI chatbots like Grok do not possess ideological biases but rather attempt to generate responses that align with the tone and expectations of the user.
“We really need to stop thinking about AI as a source of information or facts. These are language models that are merely mechanisms for summarization and reworking text, based on what it believes a user might want. These are next-word prediction models. To rely on AI for facts, or to treat it as a person, is foolish.”