Elon Musk Summoned in France as ‘X’ Faces Scrutiny Over Deepfakes and Misinformation

French prosecutors have summoned Elon Musk for questioning in connection with an ongoing investigation into his social media platform, X. Investigators have requested a voluntary interview with him in Paris on April 20, but it remains unclear whether the billionaire will attend.

Prosecutors allege that X has failed to moderate illegal content after the platform’s AI chatbot, Grok, denied the horrors of the Holocaust and began generating s—---- explicit deepfake images of women and children.

The probe started in January 2025 after a French parliamentarian accused X of using ‘biased algorithms’ and interfering in the country’s politics. A few months later, the investigation’s scope was expanded after Grok claimed that gas chambers at Auschwitz were used for disinfection rather than mass murder.

The AI chatbot later backtracked and deleted the response. In January 2026, X faced global outrage due to the rising number of s—-- deepfake images. The following month, the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office raided X’s French headquarters and seized technical data.

At the time, the company called the investigation a politicized move. “The Paris Public Prosecutor’s office widely publicized the raid—making clear that today’s action was an abusive act of law enforcement theater designed to achieve illegitimate political objectives,” the tech giant said in an official statement.

Along with Musk, X’s former CEO Linda Yaccarino has also been summoned for a voluntary interview. Yaccarino took charge of the company in May 2023 but resigned from her post in July 2025 to join the Miami-based telehealth firm eMed. Additionally, multiple X employees have been named as witnesses and have been summoned to appear in Paris between April 20 and 24.

Discussing the need for the summons, the prosecutors said, “These voluntary interviews with the executives are intended to allow them to present their position regarding the facts and, where appropriate, the compliance measures they plan to implement.”

“At this stage, the conduct of this investigation is part of a constructive approach, with the ultimate objective of ensuring that platform X complies with French law, insofar as it operates within the national territory,” they added.

French prosecutors also sought help from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to probe into X’s handling of the deepfake content. However, the DOJ has reportedly declined the request.

“This investigation seeks to use the criminal legal system in France to regulate a public square for the free expression of ideas and opinions in a manner contrary to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution,” the DOJ’s Office of International Affairs said in a letter last week.

An X official welcomed the DOJ’s move and said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal, “We are grateful to the Justice Department for rejecting this effort by a prosecutor in Paris to compel our CEO and several employees to sit for interviews. [We hope the prosecutors] recognize that there is no wrongdoing here, and terminate their baseless investigation.”