Essayer OR - Gratuit

Musk hits out at 'fascist' UK in escalating row over Grok

The Independent

|

January 11, 2026

Elon Musk has accused Sir Keir Starmer's government of being “fascist” after ministers stepped up threats to ban social media site X over AI-generated sexualised images.

- DAVID HUGHES

Musk hits out at 'fascist' UK in escalating row over Grok

The tech tycoon claimed critics of his X platform “want any excuse for censorship”, appearing defiant despite the outcry over the use of the Grok artificial intelligence feature to create fake images of people, including children.

Responding to a chart showing arrest figures for online posts with the UK at the top, Mr Musk said: “Why is the UK government so fascist?”

Earlier, pointing to claims other AI programs created non-sexualised images of women in bikinis, he posted on X: “They want any excuse for censorship.”

Criticism of X has focused on Grok’s production of images of child abuse and the manipulation of photographs of real women and girls to remove their clothes.

image

PLUS D'HISTOIRES DE The Independent

The Independent

The Independent

Saracens find old fighting spirit to terrify Toulouse

Perhaps the days of Saracens as an Investec Champions Cup force are not quite as distant as they had seemed.

time to read

4 mins

January 12, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

THE X FACTOR

With six different cohorts now in the workplace, it's now the supposed slacker generation that's quietly running the show – and they're well suited to the task

time to read

6 mins

January 12, 2026

The Independent

PM could send military to Greenland on Nato mission

Sir Keir Starmer is considering sending British troops to Greenland as Donald Trump’s rhetoric over snatching the Danish territory continues to ratchet up.

time to read

4 mins

January 12, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

Defence spending lost to MoD overdraft, warns chief

The former head of the RAF has warned that increased defence spending in the UK is being “eaten up by the Ministry of Defence (MoD)’s overdraft” with the UK’s military footprint shrinking at a critical moment.

time to read

4 mins

January 12, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

Wegovy to launch stronger dose weight-loss jabs in UK

The UK's medicines regulator has approved a stronger dose of the weight loss jab Wegovy as demand for the drug is set to soar.

time to read

2 mins

January 12, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

Big Pharma bloodsuckers get rich from nit merry-go-round

Whenever I drop into a local pharmacy in Notting Hill, the staff look at me with huge sympathy. “Not again?”

time to read

4 mins

January 12, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

Tehran threatens retaliatory strikes on US military bases

Iran has threatened to attack US military targets if Donald Trump launches strikes over the country’s growing protests.

time to read

4 mins

January 12, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

Tears are not enough in this Shakespearean fan fiction

Poised to sweep Oscar season, Chloé Zhao's 'Hamnet' is less a masterpiece than a blunt spade designed to whack you over the head until you weep from the pain

time to read

5 mins

January 12, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

Mandelson refuses apology for friendship with Epstein

Peter Mandelson has refused to apologise to victims of Jeffrey Epstein for his friendship with the convicted paedophile and financier.

time to read

3 mins

January 12, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

ON THIS DAY

1628: Charles Perrault, French writer and collector of fairy tales, was born in Paris.

time to read

1 min

January 12, 2026

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size