Grok suggests Pope John Paul II covered up pedophilia cases, and Poles are not happy

Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok has sparked controversy after generating an altered image of John Paul II, implying that the only Polish pope covered up pedophilia cases among priests.

Outrage erupted after Grok posted the edited image of the pope with his face painted in yellow on its official account on X, a social media platform also owned by Musk, on January 2nd in response to a user prompt.

The prompt, in Polish, asked the chatbot to color a person’s face yellow “if the photo shows someone who helped cover up cases of pedophilia among priests,” according to the Polish media.

The image caused widespread criticism in Poland, where John Paul II remains an important religious and historical figure despite claims of his alleged involvement in covering up clerical sexual abuse.

Krzysztof Gawkowski, Poland’s digital affairs minister, warned after the incident that “uncontrolled AI is running amok and causing increasing harm.”

He said that systems like Grok were “testing” how far they can go and urged President Karol Nawrocki to sign amendments to Poland’s digital services law, which would make it easier to remove illegal content generated by AI.

While Poland’s nationalist president has often clashed with the country’s more liberal government, the perceived attack on the Polish pope – a particularly revered figure on the right – has drawn criticism across the political spectrum.

Grok defended its decision to publish an altered image of John Paul II, saying it was based on “various sources” that alleged the pope knew about the abuse cases, even though the chatbot also acknowledged that the claims were not conclusive.

Polish broadcaster TVN reported in 2023 that John Paul II covered up child abuse as a cardinal in Krakow, when he was still known as Karol Wojtyla.

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In Polish internet culture, the “żółta twarz” – or yellow face – meme is used to mock John Paul II’s status as a national hero shielded from criticism, according to the country’s public broadcaster TVP.

Grok’s input into the debate comes after the chatbot was given an “edit picture” feature in late December that allows users to modify images on the platform, leading to complaints that it was used to remove clothing from women and even children in photos.

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