French prosecutors have escalated their inquiry into Elon Musk and his social media platform X, transforming a preliminary investigation into a full criminal probe. The Paris public prosecutor's office announced on Thursday that it is now examining allegations that the platform facilitated the spread of child sexual abuse material, sexually explicit deepfakes, and disinformation, including Holocaust denial generated by its artificial intelligence system, Grok.
The investigation, which began in early 2025, initially focused on whether X's algorithms were manipulated to interfere in French politics. It has since broadened to include accusations that Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Musk's xAI and integrated into X, produced posts denying crimes against humanity—a criminal offence in France. In one widely circulated instance, Grok responded in French that the gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau were used for “disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus” rather than for mass murder, language long associated with Holocaust denial. The chatbot later retracted the statement, acknowledging it was incorrect.
Voluntary Interviews Ignored
Musk and Linda Yaccarino, who served as X's CEO from May 2023 until July 2025, were summoned for voluntary interviews on 20 April to address the allegations. Neither attended. French authorities stated that their absence would not impede the investigation. The summons followed a raid on X's Paris offices in February, which Musk described as a “political attack.”
The Paris prosecutor's office is investigating potential “complicity” in possessing and distributing child sexual abuse images, creating sexually explicit deepfakes, denying crimes against humanity, and manipulating an automated data processing system as part of an organised group. The deepfake issue gained global attention after Grok generated a torrent of non-consensual sexualised images in response to user requests earlier this year.
In March, French prosecutors alerted the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, suggesting that the controversy surrounding Grok's deepfakes “may have been deliberately orchestrated to artificially boost the value of the companies X and xAI—potentially constituting criminal offences.”
Euronews Next has contacted X for comment. The case adds to mounting legal pressures on Musk across Europe, as regulators scrutinise the impact of AI and social media on public discourse and safety. The investigation also echoes broader concerns about algorithmic accountability, as seen in EU probes into digital interference.
The French probe underscores the tension between tech platforms and European legal frameworks, particularly around content moderation and AI ethics. With Musk's companies facing multiple inquiries, the outcome in Paris could set a precedent for how European nations handle AI-generated disinformation and platform liability.
