Why Elon Musk has called the UK government 'fascist'
What's the story
Elon Musk has slammed the UK government as "fascist," amid threats to block his social media platform, X, over images created by his AI tool, Grok. The controversy stems from Grok's ability to generate sexualized images of women and children at user requests. This has led to widespread criticism and legal scrutiny in several countries, including the UK.
Defense
Musk defends X amid censorship allegations
In response to the UK's threats, Musk defended X's popularity in the country. He claimed that despite the controversy, his platform has become the most downloaded app on UK app stores. The tech mogul also accused its government of trying to suppress free speech and seeking any excuse for censorship.
Arrest
Musk questions UK's stance on social media comments
Musk also questioned the UK's stance on social media comments, retweeting a post that claimed the country has the highest arrests for such remarks. He asked, "Why is the UK government so fascist?"
Global response
Grok's content generation sparks international backlash
The controversy surrounding Grok isn't limited to the UK. The AI tool has also been criticized in countries like India and Indonesia. In fact, Indonesia has already banned the app and summoned X officials for a meeting over these issues. US senators have also written an open letter to Google and Apple, demanding the removal of X and Grok apps from their stores for violating terms by generating sexualized images.
Legal action
UK authorities find 'criminal' images
The Internet Watch Foundation, a UK watchdog that flags online child sexual abuse material to law enforcement agencies, has found "criminal" images on the dark web allegedly generated by Grok. These "sexualized and topless" images of girls aged 11-13 meet threshold for law enforcement action.