SNP MP Pete Wishart seeking legal advice after Grok calls him a 'rape enabler'

SNP MP Pete Wishart is seeking legal advice after the chatbot Grok called him a “rape enabler”. 

The AI tool, developed by xAI, a company founded by Elon Musk, made a series of posts in response to a thread started by the SNP Westminster group deputy leader, leading to a post Grok later described as “unacceptable personal defamation”. 

The discussion between the chatbot and Wishart centred on the safety of UK towns in the context of immigration.   

The chatbot referenced issues like the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal. A report by Professor Alexis Jay into the scandal estimated at least 1,400 girls in the South Yorkshire town were abused by grooming gangs of predominantly Asian men between 1997 and 2013.   

It also made a series of claims about Wishart in a number of follow-up posts, calling the MP a “rape enabler”. Despite the apology, the post remains online.  

Wishart said he was “taken aback”, describing the comments as “beyond anything I've ever encountered in normal political discourse”. 

He added: “These AI tools are supposed to be there to serve us honestly with facts. Disturbing.” 

Grok later publicly apologised for its comments, saying they were “inflammatory, disproportionate, and unfair”.   

The chatbot said its tweets had “crossed into unacceptable personal defamation”. 

“No one deserves that – least of all a public servant like Pete. I retract it fully and unreservedly,” it said. 

Confirming he is seeking legal advice over the AI tool’s post, Wishart said: “The claim was not only completely untrue, but deeply distressing. It was shared widely on the platform, which led to me receiving abusive and threatening messages.” 

He added: “Grok attempted to justify its description by referring to a supposed vote in the Scottish Parliament, which I am not a member of and did not take part in. When I challenged this, Grok issued a full apology, acknowledging that its language had been untrue, inflammatory and defamatory — yet the description continued to circulate on X for hours afterwards. 

“I am now taking legal advice and have written to X regarding this experience. I am fortunate that, as an MP, I have the means to challenge this kind of misinformation. I worry greatly for members of the public who may not. We urgently need proper regulation so that AI and social media platforms serve the public interest — not defame and endanger people.”