French prosecutors are investigating the social media platform over alleged deepfakes and Holocaust denial – which the tech mogul dismissed as a “political attack”
French investigators have summoned X owner Elon Musk for a “voluntary interview” which they say could shed light on allegations that the platform was involved in the spread of AI-generated child sexual abuse images and deepfake content.
The French authorities have had a long-running feud with the US-based billionaire, casting his social media platform as a potential threat to democracy, while Musk says he is defending freedom of speech.
According to the Wall Street Journal, France attempted to convince the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to cooperate in the probe – only to be rebutted over what the DOJ suspected was an attempt “to entangle the United States in a politically charged criminal proceeding.”
Here is what we know about the Musk-France feud so far.
How did the feud between Musk and France start?
The probe dates back to January 2025, when a formal complaint against X was lodged by a French MP and a public official. According to reports at the time, the documents cited a “major modification in the algorithm used by the X platform,” resulting in a surge of “hateful, racist, anti-LGBTQ, or homophobic” content designed to “skew democratic debate in France”.
Around the same time, Musk was openly endorsing European right-wing parties, including the Alternative for Germany (AfD), Reform UK, and France’s National Rally.
A formal criminal investigation over alleged algorithm manipulation and illicit data extraction was opened in July 2025 and handed to the national police.
X denied any wrongdoing, describing the probe as an attack on free speech that distorted domestic law to “serve a political agenda.” The platform also complained that the authorities classified it as an “organized gang” and said it would not cooperate, adding that prosecutors were steering the investigation toward a predetermined outcome.
What has France accused X of?
The probe has since been expanded to include the following allegations:
• Complicity in the possession of pornographic images of minors
• Complicity in the organized distribution of these images
• Defamation of personal image through sexual deepfakes
• Denial of crimes against humanity (Holocaust denial)
• Fraudulent extraction of data from an automated data processing system by an organized group
• Falsification of the operation of an automated data processing system by an organized group
• Operating an illegal online platform by an organized group
Has controversial sexualized content been generated by Grok and X?
X found itself in hot water in late 2025 and early 2026 when the Grok AI assistant generated an estimated 3 million sexualized images, including thousands that appeared to depict children. Grok’s ‘spicy mode’ reportedly sexualized public figures such as Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, and former US Vice President Kamala Harris.
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