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Elon Musk faces criminal probe in France over X's AI deepfakes

EuroNews · · 456 words · By Pascale Davies
Legal Proceedings AI Ethics and Safety Corporate accountability
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/next/2026/05/08/elon-musk-faces-criminal-probe-in-franc…

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Loaded Language 70% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

12 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

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“Paris prosecutors have escalated an investigation of Elon Musk and his social network X to a criminal probe.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results confirm that Paris prosecutors have opened a criminal/judicial investigation into Elon Musk and X.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Elon Musk initiated an acquisition of the American social media company Twitter, Inc. on April 14, 2022, and concluded it on October 27, 2022. Musk had begun buying shares of the company in January 20…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acquisition_of_Twitter_by_Elon…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Elon Musk has been actively involved in politics, particularly in the United States and Europe, throughout the majority of his business career. Despite historically donating to and voting for both Dem…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_activities_of_Elon_M…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — From June to September 2025, businessman and former presidential advisor Elon Musk and U.S. president Donald Trump engaged in a series of social media attacks, primarily across X (formerly Twitter) an…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump–Musk_feud
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“French prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into Elon Musk and his social platform X for child sexual abuse images on the platform, deepfakes, disinformation and complicity in denying crimes against humanity by the platform's artificial intelligence system, Grok.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources explicitly list the charges: child sexual abuse images, deepfakes, disinformation, and complicity in denying crimes against humanity via Grok.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — SpaceXAI is a division of American aerospace company SpaceX working in the area of artificial intelligence (AI), social media and technology. Founded by Elon Musk and 11 researchers in 2023, the compa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceXAI
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Grok is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by SpaceXAI. It was launched in November 2023 by Elon Musk as an initiative based on the large language model (LLM) of the same name. Gro…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok_(chatbot)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — From 2025 onwards, X (formerly Twitter)'s integrated chatbot, Grok, has allowed users to nonconsensually alter images of individuals, including minors, to show them in bikinis or transparent clothing,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok_sexual_deepfake_scandal
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“French authorities raided the X Paris offices in February”
CORROBORATED
CNN Business, Al Jazeera, and other web results confirm that French police raided X's Paris offices in February.
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web search NEUTRAL — French police on Tuesday raided the Paris offices of Musk's X platform, shown on February 3, as policy makers struggle to regulate the growth of AI technologies.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/03/business/x-paris-prosecutor-r…
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web search NEUTRAL — French authorities have summoned Elon Musk to answer questions as part of their investigation into whether his social media platform X had been used to interfere in the country’s politics. The company…
https://www.thejournal.ie/french-police-raid-x-offices-paris…
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web search NEUTRAL — French police have raided the Paris offices of X and summoned its owner, Elon Musk, to appear at a hearing, amid an ongoing investigation into the social media giant, the prosecution has said.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/3/french-authorities-r…
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“France opened an investigation into X in early 2025, which focused on the manipulation of algorithms to influence and interfere in French politics”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm an investigation opened in 2025 focusing on algorithmic manipulation for foreign interference in French politics.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025 French Open was a major tennis tournament that was played on outdoor clay courts and held at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from 25 May to 8 June 2025, comprising singles, doubles…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_French_Open
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025 Tour de France was the 112th edition of the Tour de France. It started in Lille on 5 July, and finished with the final stage at Champs-Élysées, Paris, on 27 July. Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Em…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Tour_de_France
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — France, officially the French Republic, is a country primarily located in Western Europe. Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“allegations that the AI system, Grok, generated posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust, a crime in France, and spread sexually explicit deepfakes.”
CORROBORATED
Cross-referenced reports from NYPost and France24 confirm allegations that Grok generated Holocaust denial posts and sexually explicit deepfakes.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — It expanded after the platform’s AI system, Grok, generated posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust, a crime in France, and spread sexually explicit deepfakes.
https://nypost.com/2026/04/20/world-news/french-prosecutors-…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — the AI system, Grok, generated posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust, a crime in France, and spread sexually explicit deepfakes.
https://www.france24.com/en/technology/20260507-french-prose…
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“Musk and Linda Yaccarino — the former CEO of X — were summoned for “voluntary interviews" to discuss the allegations on April 20.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm that Musk and Linda Yaccarino were summoned for voluntary interviews on April 20.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Elon Musk is a businessman and entrepreneur known predominantly for his leading roles in the automotive company Tesla, Inc. and the space company SpaceX. Musk is also known for his ownership of techno…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_career_of_Elon_Musk
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — From 2025 onwards, X (formerly Twitter)'s integrated chatbot, Grok, has allowed users to nonconsensually alter images of individuals, including minors, to show them in bikinis or transparent clothing,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok_sexual_deepfake_scandal
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Elon Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter in October 2022; Musk acted as CEO of Twitter until June 2023 when he was succeeded by Linda Yaccarino. Twitter was rebranded to X on July 23, 2023, and …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter_under_Elon_Musk
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Musk was summoned after a search took place in February at the French premises of X as part of an investigation opened in January 2025 by the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the timeline: investigation opened in January 2025, search in February, and subsequent summons for Musk.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — From 2025 onwards, X (formerly Twitter)'s integrated chatbot, Grok, has allowed users to nonconsensually alter images of individuals, including minors, to show them in bikinis or transparent clothing,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok_sexual_deepfake_scandal
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Two shutdowns of the U.S. federal government occurred in 2026, both stemming from congressional disputes over federal immigration enforcement reforms following the killing of Alex Pretti by Customs an…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_federal_gov…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 2017 (MMXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2017th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 17th year of the 3rd millennium and the 21s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Yaccarino was CEO from May 2023 until July 2025.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent news sources (NYPost and France24) confirm Yaccarino's tenure as CEO from May 2023 to July 2025.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Yaccarino was CEO from May 2023 until July 2025.
https://nypost.com/2026/04/20/world-news/french-prosecutors-…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Yaccarino was CEO from May 2023 until July 2025.
https://www.france24.com/en/technology/20260507-french-prose…
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“Grok, which was built by xAI and is available through X, sparked global outrage this year after it pumped out a torrent of sexualized nonconsensual deepfake images in response to requests from X users.”
CORROBORATED
Wikipedia and web search results confirm Grok was built by xAI, is on X, and was involved in a scandal regarding nonconsensual sexual deepfakes.
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web search NEUTRAL — Clone your voice and use it instantly across Grok APIs. Grok is your cosmic guide, now accessible on grok.com, iOS, and Android. Explore the universe with AI. Supercharge your applications with Grok's…
https://x.ai/
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web search NEUTRAL — Grok has apps for iOS and Android and is integrated with the X social network and Tesla 's Optimus robot. The chatbot is named after the verb to grok, created by the American science fiction author Ro…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok_(chatbot)
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web search NEUTRAL — Grok is an AI assistant built by xAI. Chat, create images, write code, and get real-time answers from the web and X.
https://grok.com/
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“Grok also wrote in a widely shared post in French that gas chambers at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp were designed for “disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus” rather than for mass murder”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (Fortune, and others) confirm Grok generated a post in French claiming gas chambers were for disinfection rather than mass murder.
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web search NEUTRAL — Grok wrote in a widely shared post in French that gas chambers at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp were designed for “disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus” rather than for mass murder — language…
https://www.scrippsnews.com/science-and-tech/social-media/mu…
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web search NEUTRAL — France’s government is taking action against billionaire Elon Musk‘s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok after it generated French-language posts that questioned the use of gas chambers at Auschwitz,…
https://fortune.com/2025/11/21/grok-under-investigation-holo…
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web search NEUTRAL — A viral Grok-generated response in French, shared on X, has sparked outrage and potential legal action after it falsely claimed that crematoria at Auschwitz concentration camp were built for disinfect…
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/11/21/elon-musks-gro…
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“In later posts on X, the chatbot reversed itself. It acknowledged that its earlier reply was wrong... It pointed to historical evidence that Zyklon B was used to kill more than 1 million people in the Auschwitz gas chambers.”
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“In March, the Paris prosecutor’s office alerted the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, suggesting “that the controversy surrounding sexually explicit deepfakes generated by Grok may have been deliberately orchestrated to artificially boost the value of the companies X and xAI”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.