Where is X-owner Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot getting its information from? MRC researchers found a disturbing connection to multiple anti-free speech organizations with previous connections to the left’s vast censorship cartel.
On her podcast Tuesday, podcast host Liz Wheeler said she woke up to see a post from the X AI Grok claiming she is part of a "small group of 'superspreaders’" of "fake news." In addition to Wheeler, Grok named Christian actor Kevin Sorbo and Trump administration Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for sharing "misleading content on topics like vaccines and elections." In response, Wheeler called for Musk to investigate “who wrote the code for Grok on this because it sounds like you’ve got a censorship industrial complex mole.”
A vast censorship cartel exists to label disfavored speech and push Big Tech to censor it. Just a few months ago, America had an administration that supported this approach to AI. Then-Vice President Kamala Harris said the quiet part out loud, “[P]art of the issue here is what information is going into the machine that will then determine, and we can predict then... what then will be produced in terms of decisions and opinions that may be made through that process.”
JD Vance completely outclasses Kamala Harris in his ability to clearly articulate a pro-America AI vision.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 11, 2025
We really dodged a bullet. pic.twitter.com/neFDBMjpAu
The AI hit job resulted from an X user’s response to a post by DogeDesigner. The X user asked Grok, "Who spreads more fake news on X?” and “Is X a tool of spreading fake news? @grok please confirm.”
MRC found similar answers when researchers asked Grok the same questions. And just as Wheeler noted, Grok once again cited organizations connected to the left’s censorship cartel.
Grok initially responded to MRC’s inquiries by saying that “some analyses point to accounts like” Wheeler, Kennedy and Sorbo. When prompted to explain its response, Grok outrageously cited so-called fact-checkers that have been repeatedly called out for bias as “reputable sources.” Grok wrote, “These accounts have been flagged by reputable sources like PolitiFact, Snopes, and the Center for Countering Digital Hate for sharing misleading content.” [Emphasis added.]
The sources Grok cited, however, are anything but unbiased sources of information. In fact, MRC NewsBusters Executive Editor Tim Graham showed just how biased PolitiFact is in a piece published on April 9, 2024. PolitiFact has a nearly 3-1 partisan disparity in its negative ratings of statements by political figures. Nearly 75 percent of Republican statements fact-checked by PolitiFact were labelled “mostly false,” “false” or “pants on fire,” compared to only about 26 percent of Democrat statements.
Meanwhile, Snopes has exposed its own bias by “fact-checking” the satire website The Babylon Bee, going after a piece with the obviously satirical headline: “CNN Purchases Industrial-Sized Washing Machine To Spin News Before Publication." Afterwards, Facebook warned the satire site of potential consequences, including demonetization. Facebook specifically cited a fact-check in its warning to The Babylon Bee.
And to top it off, PolitiFact and Snopes are signatories of the Poynter Institute’s International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). The Poynter Institute has taken at least $492,000 from leftist billionaire George Soros, nearly all of it specifically earmarked for the IFCN.
Grok also repeatedly cited the leftist favorite, and infamously anti-free speech, Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). This organization not only sought to censor pregnancy resource center ads on Google but was also busted trying to destroy Musk’s X.
When MRC researchers asked Grok why it specifically chose Wheeler, Sorbo and RFK Jr. rather than other social media users with huge followings such as Jackson Hinkle or Bishop Talbert Swan, Grok doubled down. Hinkle is often accused of spreading misinformation about Israel and Ukraine, leading to his censorship on multiple platforms. Swan recently posted a fake video of Vice President JD Vance condemning Musk that went viral, racking up nearly 9 million views.
Grok claimed that Wheeler, Sorbo and RFK Jr. were chosen because they discuss a wider variety of topics. As for Hinkle, Grok alleged that he “could be considered a bigger spreader in terms of virality and deliberate disinformation.” The chatbot also noted he had been cited by multiple governments. Even still, Grok did not choose Hinkle. And after listing potential disinformation attributed to Swan, Grok argued that “these are rarely substantiated by major fact-checking organizations like PolitiFact or Snopes.” As an additional reason not to pick Swan, Grok cited his absence from CCDH reports.
MRC researchers went on to ask whether Grok considers IFCN signatories and the CCDH as credible sources whose coverage choices are sufficient. The chatbot responded by hedging:, “[I]t’s partially safe to say I find their choice of focus compelling.” Grok absurdly added that: “Their affiliation with the Poynter Institute’s International Fact-Checking Network adds a layer of accountability, as signatories follow a code of principles (e.g., transparency, non-partisanship).”
Yes, Grok specifically praised the Soros-funded network while defending labeling Wheeler as a misinformation “superspreader.”
In response to Grok’s assessment, Wheeler aptly called it out for its blatant bias. “Grok hurling false accusations at me like it’s Facebook ‘fact checkers’ or YouTube strikes & demonetization, because I reject the woke mind virus. Always leads to censorship,” she wrote in an X post. She also responded to the accusation at length on the April 15 edition of The Liz Wheeler Show.
Conservatives are under attack! Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
