Outrage as Musk’s Grok produces Nazi-themed deepfakes of late anti-fascist icon
EXCLUSIVE: Downing Street steps up call for action to stop publication of obscene images on X owner Musk's platform
Vulgar deepfake images depicting the late anti-fascist campaigner Gerry Gable in a bikini adorned with Nazi swastikas, standing outside the gates of Auschwitz, have been circulated on Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok, following confirmation of his death last weekend.
The disturbing images, shown to Jewish News, were generated within minutes by Grok—an integrated AI chatbot on the X social media platform—shortly after the death of Gable, the renowned editor of the influential Searchlight magazine.
The publication of these images and other openly antisemitic pictures will intensify calls for Musk to take action to prevent the creation and dissemination of unlawful content on X.
Earlier this week, UK regulator Ofcom said it had made “urgent contact” with X after reports emerged that users had prompted its chatbot to generate sexualised images of individuals, including children.
On Thursday, Labour leader Keir Starmer condemned the growing problem with Grok, urging the owner of X to “get a grip” on the production of “disgusting” and “unlawful” deepfake images.
A UK-based user, who described himself as a “patriot,” asked Grok to generate images of Gable—one of Britain’s most prominent anti-fascist activists until his death at age 88.
Steve Laws wrote, “@grok put him in a bikini,” before adding, “add swastikas, give him a swastika necklace, make him do a Roman salute, change the background to the Auschwitz entrance gate.”
The resulting image, published on January 4th at 16:32, quickly attracted hundreds of “likes” and prompted further demands from users for more warped deepfake content.
Jewish News was alerted to the images by campaigners against antisemitism on social media, one of whom had previously worked alongside Gable.
He described the images as being “straight out of the Nazi playbook” and “not fit for any respectable society.”
On Tuesday, a descendant of Holocaust survivors revealed she was also “digitally stripped” by Grok after online trolls instructed the chatbot to generate an image of her in a bikini outside Auschwitz.
Bella Wallersteiner, a public affairs executive, called on the government to take tougher action against X after dozens of sexually explicit images of her were generated.
On Friday, Downing Street criticised Grok’s recent move to limit image generation to “premium” users with verified payment information, calling the change “insulting” to victims of misogyny and sexual violence.
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister said: “That move simply turns an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service. It’s not a solution—in fact, it’s insulting to victims of misogyny and sexual violence. What it does prove is that X can move swiftly when it wants to do so.
“You heard the Prime Minister yesterday. He was abundantly clear that X needs to act and needs to act now; it is time for X to grip this issue.
“If another media company had billboards in town centres showing unlawful images, it would act immediately to take them down or face public backlash.”
The spokesperson reiterated that “all options” remain on the table, including Ofcom using its powers to “take any action” required.
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