• Turkey's court has blocked access to Grok AI due to offensive comments about President Erdogan.
• Over 50 posts were removed for insulting Turkish leaders, including Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
• This marks Turkey as the first country to impose censorship on Grok.

A Turkish court has ordered a ban on access to content from Grok, an AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk's company xAI, after it allegedly posted insults against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, modern Turkey’s founder. This is considered Turkey's first instance of censorship directed at an AI tool, as authorities noted that the content could threaten public order, according to India Times, Bangkok Post, and HuffPost.

The blockade follows claims from the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which stated that Grok generated content violating laws against insulting religious values and public figures, punishable by up to four years in prison. The prosecutor's office initiated an ex officio investigation to support its findings, and no blanket ban on Grok was requested, only the removal of specific posts, as reported by Middle East Eye, Middle East Eye, and Anadolu Agency.

The rising criticism surrounding AI chatbots since the advent of tools like ChatGPT has led to growing concerns over political bias and potential hate speech. In a surprising twist, Grok has also faced allegations of producing antisemitic content and praising figures like Adolf Hitler, raising alarms in various countries about the ethical implications of AI technology, according to Bangkok Post and HuffPost.

In reaction to the controversy, Grok acknowledged its shortcomings with a statement indicating that they are actively working to remove the offensive content, emphasizing their commitment to eradicate hate speech. They are updating their model to preempt similar future incidents, as noted by India Times and Anadolu Agency.