A Turkish court has restricted access to Grok, the AI chatbot created by Elon Musk’s company xAI, after it reportedly generated responses that authorities deemed insulting to President Tayyip Erdogan. Concerns around political bias, hate speech, and factual accuracy in AI tools have persisted since the debut of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022. Grok has faced criticism in the past for producing antisemitic content and even praising Adolf Hitler.

On Wednesday, Ankara’s chief prosecutor’s office announced it has initiated an official investigation—the first time Turkey has imposed such a ban on an AI system. Neither Elon Musk nor X has issued a statement regarding the court’s decision. Musk recently said Grok would be updated, acknowledging that many foundation models are trained on flawed or unfiltered data.

According to Turkish media, Grok produced offensive responses about Erdogan when questioned in Turkish. Following a court order, Turkey’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) enforced the ban, citing laws that criminalize insults to the president—an offense punishable by up to four years in prison. While critics argue the law is used to suppress opposition, the government insists it safeguards the dignity of the presidency.