PM Modi’s post on Maldives Prez’s Republic Day greetings misinterpreted by Grok 

New Delhi: Grok, the Artificial intelligence tool on X, stirred a fresh row on Tuesday by misinterpreting the Prime Minister’s post on India’s 77th Republic Day and also taking it entirely out of context by giving a false translation of the same.

The misleading translation by Grok saw it inserting “anti-India campaign”, thus turning a message of goodwill exchange between the two leaders into a politically charged statement.

The controversy broke out after users flagged ‘wrong translation’ of PM Modi‘s post, originally written in Dhivehi, by the Grok and called out its misleading insinuation.

PM Modi posted the message on X earlier in the day to thank Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu for Republic Day wishes.

In his original post, Prime Minister Modi wrote, “I extend my warm greetings and best wishes to you on the occasion of the 77th Republic Day of India. We will continue to work together for the benefit of the people of both countries. I wish all the people of the Maldives a future filled with prosperity and happiness.”

The message was a standard diplomatic exchange, reaffirming cooperation between the two nations.

However, Grok’s ‘translation’ took it completely out of context.

“Sukuriyya, Raayithun Majlis. India’s 77th Independence Day celebrations were held in the Maldives, and the Maldivian government participated in the event. This Sukuriya government has also been involved in the anti-India campaigns of the people. Even in the two anti-India campaigns, they have been at the forefront of the protests,” wrote Grok, according to a leading portal.

First, the Grok described India’s Republic Day as Independence Day – a grave factual error and then made inflammatory claims of the Maldivian government being involved in “anti-India campaigns” — something not stated or implied in PM Modi’s original post.

Notably, this is not the first instance of Grok stoking row in India and globally. The AI tool has been under fire over the generation and circulation of nude images, prompting demands for stringent action against it.

Though the AI tool often labels such features as “experimental”, the explicitly wrong interpretation could snowball into a huge controversy, throwing the diplomatic relations between nations in disarray, if not vetted properly.