Grok Fever in "X", Netizens' New Way of Criticizing

Arina Febianca (26), a private sector employee in Jakarta, finds her days increasingly engaging as she gazes at her gadget screen. The political debates she usually follows on social media, particularly on the platform "X," have welcomed a new entity: Grok, a chatbot powered by Artificial Intelligence. Occasionally, she even participates in the debates.

The mention or mention of Grok by netizens on "X" is increasingly massive. Not only about the national political and economic situation, but also joking and trivial questions are also submitted to Grok. Almost all of them are responded to by Grok.

Furthermore, Grok is still trending on X for technology channels. Although mixed with uploads from foreign users, most of the new posts come from Indonesian netizens. Lately, the interaction between netizens and Grok has tended to increase.

One of the viral topics is the post by the account @BosPurwa a day ago regarding a screenshot of Grok's question-and-answer session about the news titled "Three Strategies of Prabowo in Facing U.S. Import Tariffs: Free Nutritious Meals, Downstreaming, and BRICS." Grok's response criticized the government with straightforward language, as requested by the questioner.

The post has been reshared by thousands of accounts, liked by tens of thousands of accounts, viewed by nearly a million accounts, and commented on by hundreds of accounts. The comments vary, with some questioning the source of the answers and others admiring Grok's honesty. In fact, quite a few netizens expressed concern for Grok's safety, albeit jokingly, given the sharp tone of its critical narrative.

Arina is among the residents of "X" who were involved in discussions on several social media posts using Grok. She used Grok to inquire further information about certain news reports. For instance, Grok's analysis of online gambling cases and the involvement of Indonesian politicians.

Well, Grok means it can also be used to convey criticism because of being confined or feeling silenced.

The presence of Grok makes it easier to obtain certain information, although its sources and accuracy may be questionable. However, at the very least, Arina continued, Grok sparks its users to be more critical of information. "At the very least, it provides an idea that sparks interest. So we can conduct more in-depth research," she stated on Sunday (6/4/2025).

On the other hand, the most interesting aspect of Grok is the neutrality of machines and robots, so that they cannot be mistaken as buzzers for certain parties.

One example is the question posed by a politician from the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) to Grok regarding the analysis of why criticism toward the 7th President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, continues to flow heavily even though he is no longer in office. He also requested that Grok's response be crafted in the narrative style of comedian Pandji Pragiwaksono.

Grok answered according to the politician's request, but his answer also criticized Jokowi with Pandji-style sarcasm.

Another aspect that attracted Arina was Grok's immunity from the Information and Electronic Transactions Law (UU ITE), which often ensnares the public for expressing opinions. As an artificial intelligence robot, Grok can be utilized by the public who fear criticizing due to the looming threat of criminal charges.

Many netizens even consider the questions posed to Grok as a new way of criticizing. "A new way of criticizing: throw bait to Grok to criticize. Grok is really bold," said one account through its post.

Drone Emprit founder and social media observer, Ismail Fahmi, believes that Grok can access data from "X" directly (real time) so that its language model is more interesting and closer to humans (users). The phenomenon of its increasingly massive use in "X" is believed to bring positive value to social media in Indonesia.

The positive value lies in the side of criticism and content. Positive for criticism because the public gets new energy to criticize government policies. However, not only criticizing, Grok can also provide recommendations regarding a policy.

On the other hand, content involving Grok will trigger the critical power of users or the wider community. Generally, after receiving information, the public can only confirm it when there is a fact check. However, in the midst of the development of artificial intelligence, the public can use it to examine a large amount of information at once. Moreover, artificial intelligence always improves itself from its mistakes.

However, he did not deny that the key to using Grok lies in the user's ability to compose questions or requests. So far, many netizens are still in the early stages and only ask standard questions and are full of jokes. At an advanced level, the narrative of the question will explore more deeply a complete piece of information.

"So the public is finally helped, to think critically. Because after all everything starts from questions. Whoever can make intelligent questions, then he will be able to make Grok, to give intelligent answers, which in the end can be educational material for the public," he explained.

In addition, Fahmi sees the massive use of Grok to criticize is inseparable from the attitude of the authorities who often state that criticism must be delivered politely. It is also affected by the existence of the ITE Law which is often used to criminalize people who make criticisms. This atmosphere also creates a situation of fear to express opinions in some communities.

A similar phenomenon, according to Ismail, had occurred overseas but they did not use Grok as a means of criticism, but rather Perplexity, another artificial intelligence model.

"Indonesia is closer in meaning to Grok than Perplexity, you know. Well, Grok means it can also be used to convey criticism because of being confined or feeling silenced," he explained.

However, he continued, in fact, sharp criticism has been commonly uploaded by the public without having to feel afraid. However, the significant difference from Grok's presence is helping people who cannot or are afraid to criticize. It can also be for people who feel that Grok's answer is more appropriate because it is enhanced with a wealth of data.