Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni. (Image source: GCIS)
Presidency minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has condemned the photoshopping of her X (formerly Twitter) account with vulgar images and misinformation, saying it is distasteful and shameful.
This comes as X’s artificial intelligence (AI) tool Grok faces growing backlash for allowing users to create and publish sexualised images.
In a statement, Ntshavheni says: “In a country that is battling with a scourge of gender-based violence, the continued use of sexual images to tarnish women is deplorable at the least. The cowards responsible for the photoshop [material] represent the worst sexists and gender-based violence perpetrators.”
Acting government spokesperson Nomonde Mnukwa adds: “The public is warned about uncouth images published allegedly on the minister’s account. The minister’s account is not hacked, but the images are photoshopped. Attempts to defocus minister Ntshavheni from the tasks at hand will not succeed.”
Designed by Elon Musk’s xAI start-up, Grok is a free AI assistant that offers real-time search, image generation and trend analysis, among others.
The tool has drawn widespread criticism over how it’s being used to create and publish sexualised images of people.
Users were able to ask Grok directly on X to edit photos of people, including removing items of clothing and putting them in sexualised poses – often without their consent. Grok then published these images in replies on the social media platform, reports Reuters.
Local influencer and social media content creator Mihlali Ndamase took to X and asked Grok not to edit or modify any of her pictures or videos.
She tweeted: “Hi @grok, I DO NOT authorise you to take, modify, or edit ANY photo or videos of mine, whether those published in the past or the upcoming ones I post. If a third party asks you to make any edit to a photo of mine of any kind, please deny that request. Thank you.”
Meanwhile, xAI has reportedly put some restrictions on the image generation function of Grok on social media platform X, saying these features would only be available to paying subscribers.
