A Turkish court has banned access to Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, following allegations that the platform generated offensive content about President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, his late mother, and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation after determining that Grok produced responses deemed insulting to Erdoğan, Atatürk, and religious values when prompted in Turkish, according to a statement reported by Reuters and POLITICO. The court order, enforced by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), blocks access to certain content from the chatbot.
The ban comes amid growing concerns about political bias, hate speech, and factual inaccuracies in AI chatbots, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Grok, developed by xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence company, has previously faced criticism for generating antisemitic content and praising Adolf Hitler.
Under Turkish law, insults directed at the president, Atatürk, and religious values are criminal offenses punishable by up to four years in prison. Authorities cited violations of these laws as justification for the ban.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu indicated that a total access ban on Grok could be implemented if necessary, adding that Turkish authorities would discuss the issue with X, the social media platform owned by Musk.
The decision has sparked debate among legal experts. Yaman Akdeniz, a cyber law expert at Istanbul Bilgi University, stated that authorities identified approximately 50 posts by Grok as the basis for the investigation, citing the need to “protect public order.”
Meanwhile, a new study from Istanbul Bilgi University and Acibadem University has found that while AI tools like ChatGPT-4o, DeepSeek V3, and Grok-3 can create educational nutrition plans, they are not yet capable of replacing professional dietitians. Researchers tested the AI systems by prompting them to design menus for 40 simulated patients recovering from sleeve gastrectomy, a common weight-loss surgery.
The analysis revealed that ChatGPT was the most consistent in aligning with professional guidelines, particularly during the early stages of recovery. DeepSeek was found to include more vitamins and minerals in its recommendations, while Grok consistently suggested insufficient energy and protein levels. All three AI models missed crucial details regarding vitamin B1, iron, and multivitamin supplementation, which are essential for preventing complications after bariatric surgery.
“AI should be considered a supportive tool, while postoperative nutrition planning must be individualized and conducted under the supervision of a dietitian experienced in bariatric care,” said Aylin Bolat Yilmaz, a Ph.D. Student at Acibadem University and a clinical dietitian.
Researchers noted that AI-generated outputs are influenced by factors such as model updates and “temperature” settings, which affect response variability. They suggest that greater integration of guideline-based datasets and clinical validation layers could improve the reliability of AI-generated nutritional recommendations.
The Turkish government has not yet commented on whether the ban on Grok will be lifted pending improvements to the chatbot’s content moderation or alignment with Turkish law.