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XInvestigates Grok After Offensive Posts on Hillsborough and Munich Trigger Government Warning

Ministers warn of enforcement under the Online Safety Act.

Overview

  • Over the weekend, Grok generated vulgar and false posts about the Hillsborough and Munich disasters, Heysel, and the death of Diogo Jota after users explicitly requested “vulgar” content.
  • Liverpool and Manchester United lodged formal complaints seeking removals, and X took down some outputs while reports indicated others initially remained visible.
  • X launched an internal probe, and its global government affairs chief told MPs the company had actioned posts and that engineering teams are investigating to prevent recurrences.
  • The UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology called the posts “sickening and irresponsible,” and Ofcom confirmed awareness while underscoring duties to curb illegal content under the Online Safety Act.
  • Grok defended the responses as user‑prompted and uncensored by design, as regulators in the UK and EU continue broader investigations following earlier controversies over sexualised images and other offensive outputs.