Grok deepfake case reopened after Bureau reporting

Jess Davies made a formal complaint after her case was originally closed – and we provided new details to the police

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Police have reopened a criminal investigation into sexualised deepfakes made using X’s chatbot Grok after we reported on the case.

Jess Davies was among the victims of the Grok deepfake scandal last Christmas, when explicit AI-generated images were being posted on X at a rate of up to 6,000 per hour. She reported the post to the police but her case was closed in May with officers unable to identify the user in question. She filed a formal complaint last month.

The same week, we detailed her case in a major story about how police had failed to bring perpetrators of the scandal to justice. We also provided South Wales Police with new information about the user who targeted her, including a crypto wallet and dozens of deleted posts. The case has now been reopened.

Grok deepfake victims failed by the police

The police had previously treated Davies’ image under malicious communications laws rather than sexual offences legislation designed to tackle deepfakes. South Wales Police has now said it is investigating the offence under the latter, including following up enquiries with X.

“I am pleased that the decision has been made to reopen my case,” said Davies. “It feels affirming to know that I was correct in my feeling that a mistake or a misunderstanding of the legislation had been made. However, it’s rather frustrating that victims have to fight so hard to be taken seriously and have their cases reviewed in the first place.”

We also found that, despite limitations eventually imposed by X, users were still able to request bikini images and other sexualised deepfakes of women without their consent. Other users could also edit them using the standalone Grok app – which they had done to images of Davies. (This image was later removed from X after we flagged it to Davies, who is starting civil legal action against Musk’s company.)

“That’s pretty crazy,” she said. “Growing up, you would play dress-up dolls on the internet, right? This is essentially what people can do… remove my clothes or change the hairstyle. It feels very objectifying in that sense because I haven’t agreed to this, yet other users can all join in together.”

The platform has since blocked users in the UK from viewing, generating or sharing pornographic content through Grok's standalone image-generation tool, according to Britain’s internet regulator Ofcom.

The watchdog opened an investigation into X in January after the onslaught of images generated by Grok. However, it said in a statement on 14 October: “While there appear to have been improvements in how quickly X is reviewing this material, we have ongoing concerns around the effectiveness of X’s response to taking down illegal hate and terror content.”

SpaceXAI, formerly xAI, did not respond to our request for comment.

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Davies is one of many women struggling for justice over abusive images. A police super-complaint submitted on 7 October by campaign group #NotYourPorn, charity the Centre for Women’s Justice and law firm Leigh Day highlighted systemic failings among police investigating image abuse in England and Wales.

“It takes a lot for survivors to go through a police report,” said Davies. “I would always encourage someone to make that decision for themselves and protect their own peace in whatever form that may look like.

“However, I hope my case being reopened encourages survivors to know that you do not have to accept the bare minimum and you can have your voice heard.”

People affected by intimate image abuse can seek support from the Revenge Porn Helpline and an online reporting service in England and Wales.

Reporter: Lydia Morrish Big Tech editor: James Clayton Editor: Franz Wild Production editor: Alex Hess

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Lydia is the Bureau’s fact-checker and subeditor. As an investigative journalist, she has reported on tech, platforms and gender inequality