Musk reposts old 'revenge rape' news from Pakistan, his own chatbot Grok fact-checks him

Elon Musk is facing flak for spreading hate against Islam. The SpaceX CEO reposted an old story piece talking about a case of revenge rape in Pakistan. The incident reportedly happened in 2017 in the village of Muzaffarabad. A man raped a 12-year-old girl, and instead of initiating legal action against him, the village council ordered the brother of the victim to rape the rapist's 16-year-old sister. The innocent girl was reportedly disgraced in front of 40 people. The original user who posted the news of the incident wrote that the "revenge rape" was carried out under Sharia law. Elon Musk reposted it on August 25, inviting flak for promoting hatred against Islam. Even his own AI tool, Grok, dismissed the claim that Islamic law supports revenge rape. The user wrote, alongside a clipping of the story, "PAKISTAN: a woman was raped, and instead of arresting the rapist, the Sharia council decided that the rapist’s sister should be raped by the victim’s brother."

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Grok refutes claims of Islamic law and revenge rape

When Grok was asked whether the claim is true, it stated, that the "disturbing case" happened in in Punjab, Pakistan, "where a rapist’s family negotiated a reconciliation with the victim’s family, leading to the rapist’s sister being raped by the victim’s brother as a form of "revenge rape," a practice not explicitly supported by Sharia law but linked to local tribal customs like the Pashtunwali code of honor." The AI fact-checking tool added, "This case highlights how cultural practices can override legal frameworks, a phenomenon supported by a 2016 study in the Journal of South Asian Studies on gender violence in Pakistan." Grok further stated that the incident "reflects regional patriarchal traditions rather than a universal Islamic mandate."

Netizens slam Musk for promoting anti-Islam posts without checking facts

Netizens are now slamming Musk for posting a message that promotes hate against Islam without checking the facts. A user commented, "Elon Musk, you should not try to insult the Islamic religion by spreading a mistake that confuses tribal customs in Pakistan with Islamic law." Another user contradicted the claim that no arrests were made. She wrote, "Unlike the claim that the rapist was not arrested, police in Pakistan did make arrests in this case after the incident came to light. They arrested the head of the village council and other members who ordered the attack, as well as the brother who carried out the revenge rape." She added, "The village councils that issue these rulings are illegal in Pakistan, and their ‘justice’ is based on centuries-old tribal traditions, not on formal Islamic law." A Guardian report backed the arrests, saying that action was taken against a total of 26 people in the case.

A user wrote that he has dropped plans of buying a Tesla after seeing Musk promote anti-Muslim hate. "Don’t spread misinformation about Islam. What happened in Pakistan is tied to local culture, not religion," the comment read. "Misframing it as Islam is misleading and harmful. I was considering buying a Tesla before the $7,500 rebate deadline, but I won’t support a company led by someone who promotes such views." Musk has not commented on the criticism he in inviting by doing so yet.