MediaNama’s Take: The recent misuse of Grok on X exposes a persistent blind spot in how platforms deploy generative AI at scale while deferring responsibility for its harms. Although non-consensual image abuse is not new, the ease with which users can now sexualise real women through a built-in platform tool marks a troubling escalation. Crucially, this content does not merely circulate on X; the platform’s own system is producing it, in public view, at the prompt of ordinary users.
Moreover, this trend highlights how debates surrounding labelling, realism, or intent often overlook the main point. Siddharth Pillai, co-founder of the RATI Foundation, recently told MediaNama that deepfakes made and shared without consent are a tool used against women and gendered minorities, regardless of their realism or labelling. The harm flows from the act itself and the lack of consent, not from whether an image looks convincing or carries a disclaimer.
At the same time, Grok’s past controversies, ranging from abusive language to extremist and antisemitic outputs, show that this episode does not exist in isolation. Instead, it forms part of a broader pattern in which safeguards lag behind deployment, and accountability follows only after public backlash.
As regulators in India and elsewhere sharpen their focus on intermediary responsibility and AI-generated content, this episode raises a central question: can platforms continue to dismiss such outcomes as isolated incidents, or will they have to confront the consequences of embedding generative AI systems directly into social feeds without adequate safeguards?
What’s the news?
A concerning trend on X that began in December 2025 saw users publicly prompting Grok, the AI chatbot developed by xAI, to alter photos of real people, mostly women, by asking the tool to change or remove their clothing, make more suggestive poses, etc., with the edited images appearing directly in reply threads. Posts on the platform show users replying to photos and videos posted with requests such as “put her in a bikini”, “take her top off”, or “turn her around”, and Grok generating sexualised edits in response. Many such requests are being made to the chatbot daily on the platform.
The trend builds on the mid-2025 launch of Grok Imagine, a multi-modal image and short-video generation feature that includes a “Spicy” mode. The feature lists four modes—Normal, Fun, Fast, and Spicy—with Spicy allowing users to produce sexually suggestive and semi-nude outputs from text or image prompts, including partial nudity not typically permitted on other AI platforms. Spicy mode appears when users enable Not Safe for Work (NSFW) settings and verify age in app preferences. Furthermore, the chatbot is able to create these outputs in the form of images and short videos from stills.
Notably,…
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