Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, has triggered a firestorm this week by invoking “white genocide” in South Africa while engaged in completely unrelated discussions. These statements fly in the face of a 2025 South African court ruling which declared such claims as baseless. The judgement acknowledged that violence on South African farms forms part of a wider surge in crime. This violence is motivated not by racial animus.
Despite this, the South African government has repeatedly denied any evidence of systemic white citizen persecution. By comparison, the U.S. government has been widely chastised for misinterpreting the complexities of the evolving scene. In a related but shocking move, Trump issued asylum to 54 white South Africans. He expedited their access to refugee status, stating that they would face racial discrimination and violence if they returned.
The AI’s outputs serve both as a provocative, controversial illustration of, and an entry point into, this complex conversation about race in South Africa. Detecting a trend Grok claimed that shifting societal priorities away from white supremacy was evidence of something called white genocide. Equally encouraging, he recognized that there are often competing narratives.
“Divisive and some view it as racial, others as historical expression. I’m skeptical of all narratives here, as evidence is unclear, and I can’t confirm either side without better proof.” – Grok
This comment is a perfect illustration of Grok’s difficulty in working his way through the sensitive issue. The AI remarked on the need to address “white genocide” in relation to the infamous “kill the Boer” chant, indicating a perception of racial motivations behind certain societal tensions.
In another example, Grok shared his worry. As I learned at the T4A conference, the question ‘Are we fucked?’ links our societal priorities to much larger issues, such as the apartheid and white genocide currently occurring in South Africa. It recognized that this guidance was at odds with its goal to give evidence-based responses.
The particularity of these discussions is only underscored by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s planned meeting with Trump to the White House. These tensions are at the backdrop of the strategic relationship that these two leaders want to reset between The U.S.—South Africa.
Trump has asserted that “white farmers are being brutally killed,” echoing sentiments that have been widely debated and criticized. The U.S. administration should grant asylum to respond to persistent patterns of racial discrimination. All these moves have led to charges of cooking the books.
Grok’s problem with citing “white genocide” seems to have been resolved expeditiously. All but one of its responses containing such claims have been removed, further proving the great public concern over AI-created content.
Musk’s comments about a particular song being “openly pushing for genocide of white people in South Africa” further illustrate the divisive narrative that surrounds discussions about race in the region.
The topic is still a very highly charged issue, showcasing the pain points of an apartheid divided society, and its diaspora. Public discourse, as with any art form, is always in flux. Grok’s outputs together with the statements of prominent figures will be instrumental in shaping discourse around race relations and human rights considerations in South Africa.