Borkowski Media Trends: Grokipedia & Billie vs Billionaires
Grokipedia’s bid to rewrite knowledge
The launch of Grokipedia by Elon Musk feels more like the actions of Orwell’s Ministry of Truth, than a furthering of online knowledge. Unveiled this week, Grokipedia, is an artificial intelligence powered rival to Wikipedia that claims to offer verified information filtered through his chatbot Grok. According to reports it already reflects right wing talking points and offers a selective rewriting of facts (the Jan 6 insurrection entry which cites Trump’s lie ‘widespread claims of voting irregularities’). The site also falsely claims that pornography worsened the AIDS epidemic and that social media may be fuelling a rise in transgender people.
Musk’s reputation weighs heavily on the project. His fame as a technology pioneer guarantees attention and excitement, yet his long, long record of controversial remarks and quarrels with the media brings suspicion. His recent history of increasingly outspoken, far right comments and even a Nazi salute, have led many to see the technology as a mirror of his worldview, rather than an open source of shared truth.
Efforts to promote the platform have followed a well-trodden path. Using his vast following on X, Musk promoted Grokipedia as a rebellion against what he calls left wing Wikipedia and “woke bias” and positioned himself as a guardian of free thinking. Despite his efforts to push the platform via his own social media, Grokipedia has come under fire for spouting outright lies and attempting to rewrite history.
If it gains traction, the platform could blur the line between verified fact and ideological storytelling, reshaping how people consume and trust information. In an age already fraught with misinformation, Grokipedia’s rise might test the very idea of a shared reality. For now, Musk’s reputation casts a shadow of mistrust over the platform, far from being a neutral challenger to Wikipedia, Grokipedia is a sword of the far-right culture war. Time will tell how many victims it claims.
Billie’s Billionaire Bashing
In a month that brought us both Swift’s Life of a Showgirl, and Lilly Allen’s surprise new album, it’s a different singer that’s managed to steel headlines this week with a now viral remark. Standing in a room that included Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, told the billionaires present to reconsider their wealth, saying, “If you are a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? No hate, but yeah, give your money away, shorties.” The remark came as she and her brother Finneas accepted the Music Innovator of the Year award and pledged a significant donation to charity. She pledged to donate $11.5m of the proceeds of her Hit Me Hard and Soft tour to causes dedicated to food equity, climate justice, and reducing carbon.
The moment has strengthened Eilish’s image as a socially conscious artist unafraid to speak her mind. Her history of working with nonprofit Reverb for years on its Music Decarbonization Project and Music Climate Revolution initiative has lent credibility to her words, shielding her from allegations of tokenism. Her words landed well with younger fans who see her as authentic, although she has received some criticism regarding the tension of a wealthy performer lecturing the rich.
Should celebrities wade into wealth politics or is it too risky? Perhaps, but Eilish, who has shown a willingness to challenge convention and act boldly, can whether any criticism.