Gayton McKenzie has audaciously asserted that his old tweets featuring the K-word racial slur are products of artificial intelligence (AI). He maintains that even though these tweets appeared on his official X [formerly] account, he was actually using an account with a different username during that timeframe.
Grok – the AI chatbot established by Elon Musk – has subsequently challenged the assertions made by the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture.
GAYTON SAYS K-WORD TWEETS ARE ‘AI’ GENERATED
<pDuring a Facebook Live session on Sunday, 10 August, Gayton McKenzie rejected allegations that he had posted any racist tweets.
He further threatened legal action should he be compelled to resign from his role as Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture.
The leader of the Patriotic Alliance claims that many of the racial slurs appearing on his account were not authored by him.
He stated, “Some of the tweets that I see floating around are not even mine. People are now making AI tweets and saying it’s me.”
Though the posts remain viewable on his timeline, Gayton contended that he was using a different X account during the period when these posts were made.
GROK DISPUTES MINISTER’S CLAIMS
On the X platform, users enquired of the AI chatbot Grok regarding the authenticity of Gayton McKenzie’s assertions about his past tweets.
Grok replied: “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 broadcast, Gayton McKenzie also refuted claims that his past tweets were perceived as racist.
Addressing the criticism, Gayton wrote on his account: “I’m the son of a black woman. I have children with a black woman. I battled my entire life for equal treatment between black and coloured individuals because we fought the same fight.
He further claimed: “I can never be guilty of racism”.
Gayton acknowledged that although he “can never be guilty of racism”, he did concede and apologize for making other derogatory remarks.
“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 remarked that he would “subject myself to an investigation”.
