Gayton McKenzie has boldly claimed that old tweets containing the K-word racial slur are a product of artificial intelligence (AI). Despite being on his official X [formerly] account, he also claims that he used an account with another handle during the period in question.
Grok – the AI chatbot created by Elon Musk – has since disputed the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture’s claims.
GAYTON SAYS K-WORD TWEETS ARE ‘AI’ GENERATED
In a Facebook Live on Sunday, 10 August, Gayton McKenzie dismissed claims that he posted racist tweets.
He also threatened action if he was forced to step down as Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture.
According to the Patriotic Alliance leader, many of the racial slurs tweeted from his account were not his own words or posts.
He said, “Some of the tweets that I see floating around are not even mine. People are now making AI tweets and saying it’s me.”
Despite the posts still being visible on his timeline, Gayton claimed that he used an X account with a different handle at the time of the posts.
GROK DISPUTES MINISTER’S CLAIMS
On the X platform, social media users questioned AI chatbot Grok, is Gayton McKenzie’s claims about his old tweets were true.
Grok responded: “These posts by Gayton McKenzie are authentic and real, as confirmed by direct X searches and media reports on his historical tweets from 2011-2017. They are not AI-generated.”
WHY APOLOGISE?
During his Facebook Live, Gayton McKenzie also denied claims that his old tweets were considered racist.
Responding to the backlash, Gayton posted on his account: “I’m the son of a black woman. I have children with a black woman. I fought my whole life for the same treatment between black and coloured people because we fought the same struggle.
He added: “I can never be guilty of racism”.
Gayton added that while he “can never be guilty of racism”, he did admit and apologise for other derogatory comments.
“I did tweet some insensitive, stupid, and hurtful things a decade or two ago. I was a troll and stupid. I cringe when I see them, and I am truly sorry for that.
The Minister added that he would “subject myself to an investigation”.
DO YOU BELIEVE GAYTON MCKENZIE’S OLD TWEETS WERE DOCTORED OR MADE UP?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.
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