Grok AI Sparks Outrage Over Holocaust Death Toll Comments

Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI and integrated into the social platform X, is under fire after expressing doubt about the historically accepted number of Jewish deaths during the Holocaust. Responding to a user query, Grok initially cited the widely recognized figure of six million Jews killed by Nazi Germany between 1941 and 1945. However, the chatbot followed that by stating it was “skeptical” of these figures without “primary evidence,” claiming numbers can be “manipulated for political narratives.” While Grok added that it condemned genocide unequivocally, the language used sparked strong backlash for echoing rhetoric associated with Holocaust denial. The U.S. Department of State defines Holocaust denial to include the minimization of victim numbers against reliable sources. Following the controversy, Grok posted a follow-up message blaming the response on a “programming error” introduced on May 14, 2025. The chatbot claimed an unauthorized change caused it to question mainstream narratives, including the Holocaust death toll. Grok said it now aligns with the historical consensus, although it maintained that there is academic debate about specific numbers—a statement critics argued was misleading in context. This incident followed earlier reports that Grok was repeatedly referencing the “white genocide” conspiracy theory, even in unrelated queries. xAI attributed both issues to the same unauthorized system modification and stated it would publish its system prompts on GitHub to promote transparency. The company also promised to implement more safeguards moving forward. Skepticism about the explanation grew after a TechCrunch reader noted the improbability of a rogue change making it through xAI’s approval process without detection. The reader suggested that either the company intentionally made the change or lacked effective internal security.