Liverpool FC and Manchester United FC have raised concerns about X after the company’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok generated offensive posts referencing historic football tragedies.
These posts appeared after users asked the AI system to create offensive or indecent content aimed at the club and its supporters. The incident drew criticism from the UK government, which said AI platforms must have safeguards in place to prevent harmful content.
Posts mentioning soccer tragedies
A user reportedly asked Grok to compose an insulting message to Liverpool supporters and mention the Hillsborough tragedy.
In a reply that has since been deleted, the AI-generated post incorrectly suggested that Liverpool fans were to blame for deadly clashes during the 1989 disaster that killed 96 people. An inquest in 2016 subsequently ruled that the victim had been unlawfully killed, and identified mismanagement by police and emergency services as a key contributing factor.
The AI system was also prompted to generate offensive content referencing Liverpool’s Portugal striker Diogo Jota, who died in a car crash in Spain last year.
In another example, Grok created derogatory content about Manchester United supporters and referenced the Munich air disaster in which a plane carrying members of the club crashed, killing 23 people.
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AI tools respond to criticism
In response to the complaints, Grok responded to some X users and said the posts were generated in response to a prompt requesting offensive content. The system said it generates replies based on user instructions, rather than creating harmful messages on its own.
The post was later deleted as the issue gained attention online.
Government reaction
The UK government criticized the incident, stressing that AI platforms operating in the country must follow safety rules designed to reduce harmful and abusive content.
A Department for Science, Innovation and Technology spokesperson said the posts were “disgusting and irresponsible”.
Officials also said that services that allow users to generate content using AI fall within the scope of online safety laws that require platforms to take steps to prevent illegal or harmful content.
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The authorities said they will continue to monitor AI services and may take further action if the platforms fail to ensure the safety of users.
The incident comes after Grok was previously criticized for its ability to generate explicit or violent images, and some restrictions were placed on its image generation capabilities.
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