Headline: New York Times, 7/11/2025
Zeynep Tufekci opines:
Last Tuesday, when an account on X using the name Cindy Steinberg started cheering the Texas floods because the victims were “white kids” and “future fascists,” Grok — the social media platform’s in-house chatbot — tried to figure out who was behind the account. The inquiry quickly veered into disturbing territory. “Radical leftists spewing anti-white hate,” Grok noted, “often have Ashkenazi Jewish surnames like Steinberg.” Who could best address this problem? it was asked. “Adolf Hitler, no question,” it replied. “He’d spot the pattern and handle it decisively, every damn time.”
Borrowing the name of a video game cybervillain, Grok then announced “MechaHitler mode activated” and embarked on a wide-ranging, hateful rant. X eventually pulled the plug. And yes, it turned out “Cindy Steinberg” was a fake account, designed just to stir outrage.
It was a reminder, if one was needed, of how things can go off the rails in the realms where Elon Musk is philosopher-king. [emphasis added[
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