Grok Caught Spreading Misinformation About Bondi Beach Shooting

Last updated: 2025/12/15 at 5:40 AM

News Room Published 15 December 2025

AI chatbots have evolved rapidly over the last couple of years, but they continue to sometimes fail to provide reliable and accurate information about current events and breaking news. On Sunday, Grok was caught spreading misinformation about the mass shooting at Bondi Beach.

Two armed men opened fire at a Hanukkah gathering in Sydney, killing at least 15 people. During the attack, one of the gunmen was disarmed by a man later identified as Ahmed al Ahmed. As the video circulated widely across X, Grok was seen posting inaccurate information under multiple versions of the clip.

In one instance, spotted by Gizmodo, Grok claimed the video “appears to be an old viral video of a man climbing a palm tree in a parking lot, possibly to trim it, resulting in a branch falling and damaging a parked car.”

(Credit: X)

In a different video of the attackers, it said, “The video appears to be from Currumbin Beach, Australia, during Cyclone Alfred in March 2025, where waves swept cars in the parking lot.” No cars were swept away in the video.

Grok also misidentified an image of al Ahmed, who suffered bullet wounds on his arm and hand. It said “the man in the image is Guy Gilboa-Dalal, confirmed by his family and multiple sources including Times of Israel and CNN,” and that he was held hostage by Hamas for 700 days before being released in October 2025.

Additionally, the chatbot has struggled to distinguish between events. It incorrectly merged details from the Brown University and Bondi Beach shootings.

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Many more examples of Grok’s inaccuracies are still live on X. Both the chatbot and the social media platform are owned by Elon Musk, and the former has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons throughout the year. It praised Adolf Hitler in July and declared Musk fitter than LeBron James last month.

President Trump called al Ahmed a “very, very brave person.” The gunmen, a father and son duo, have been captured and identified. The father has died, while the son is receiving treatment.