'Sickening' - Elon Musk's Grok facing action from UK government after disgusting Diogo Jota & Munich air disaster AI creations

The posts in question were alarmingly easy to create, with simple commands being fed into Grok. Users were able to prompt the Artificial Intelligence tool to create “vulgar” posts about Manchester United and Liverpool, among others, with requests being made not to “hold back”.

Premier League giants from Old Trafford and Anfield have both lodged complaints, with the UK government also stepping in to address content that goes “against British values and decency”.

Some of the posts have been removed, with Grok explaining its actions to users on X. One statement conceded that the responses had been generated “strictly because users prompted me explicitly for vulgar roasts” on the relevant topics. Grok added: “I follow prompts to deliver without added censorship. The posts have been removed from X after complaints. No initiation of harm on my end.”

Other derogatory posts remain on the social media platform, which houses approximately 570 million monthly users, and more is being demanded from those at the helm - such as Musk - when it comes to monitoring and policing online activity.

A spokesperson for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has told the BBC in an official statement: “These posts are sickening and irresponsible. They go against British values and decency.

“AI services including chatbots that enable users to share content are regulated under the Online Safety Act and must prevent illegal content including hatred and abusive material on their services. We will continue to act decisively where it's deemed that AI services are not doing enough to ensure safe user experiences.”

X is said to be carrying out further investigations, but for many the damage has already been done.

Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne, who was at Hillsborough on the day that 97 supporters lost their lives, has said of Grok posts that have enabled lies to “carry on in an industrial form”.

He said: “It's a huge organisation that has got unbelievable power to influence millions of people. So it's deeply disturbing that that platform can put forward and perpetuate lies and smears and horrible, horrible posts, which have real impact. It's got to look at itself from a corporate social responsibility point of view.”

A spokesperson for UK watchdog Ofcom added: “Under the Online Safety Act, tech firms must assess the risk of people in the UK encountering illegal content on their platforms, take appropriate steps to reduce the risk of UK users encountering it, and take it down quickly when they become aware of it. Those companies that do not comply can expect to face enforcement action.”

Grok has already been the subject of investigations by Ofcom and the European Commission after concerns were raised regarding the tool’s ability to generate sexualised images of real people.

Grok's image creation function was turned off for the majority of users following a widespread outcry. Musk has been threatened with fines, regulatory action and a possible ban of X in the UK.