Liverpool and Manchester United criticise Grok’s ‘sickening’ AI-generated posts

The UK government has branded as ‘sickening and irresponsible’ a series of derogatory posts generated by Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok about historic football tragedies, including the Hillsborough and Heysel disasters, the Munich air disaster, and the death of former Liverpool forward Diogo Jota. According to a report by BBC, the officials said that the posts ‘go against British values and decency’. Along with this, the officials also warned that AI services must company with the Online Safety Act.

Football clubs file complaints

The BBC report further adds that both Liverpool and Manchester United has filed complaints with Elon Musk’s X (formerly known as Twitter) after its chatbot Grok produced some explicit content when users prompted to create ‘vulgar’ posts. While, some of the posts have been removed but others are still visible on the platform. Grok has also defended its actions in replies to users, saying that it was following the prompts “strictly” and had “no initiation of harm.”

Political and public reaction

As per the BBC report, Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne, who managed to survive the Hillsborough disaster, said he was “deeply horrified” by the posts, warning they perpetuate lies and smears on an “industrial scale.” He has also urged Elon Musk’s X to reflect on its corporate responsibility, stressing that such content undermines years of education and awareness efforts around football tragedies.

On the other hand, the spokesperson for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology reiterated that AI chatbots must prevent illegal and abusive content. Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, added that under the Online Safety Act, companies must assess risks, reduce exposure to harmful material, and remove it quickly—or face enforcement action.

Earlier this year, both Ofcom and the European Commission launched investigations into Grok after reports it was used to generate sexualised images of real people. The latest controversy intensifies scrutiny of X’s AI tools and raises questions about how platforms balance user prompts with safety obligations.