French Cybercrime Prosecutors raid Elon Musk’s X offices in Paris

Paris: French prosecutors raided the offices of Elon Musk’s social media platform X on Tuesday as part of a wide-ranging preliminary investigation into alleged offences including the circulation of child sexual abuse material, sexually explicit deepfakes and Holocaust denial.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said the cybercrime unit opened the investigation in January last year. It is examining possible complicity in the possession and distribution of pornographic images of minors, manipulation of automated data systems, and denial of crimes against humanity. Europol is assisting French authorities.

Prosecutors said the current raids were part of a “constructive approach” aimed at ensuring X complies with French law. The Paris prosecutor’s office has since left the platform, urging followers to join it on other social media.

Deepfakes and antisemitic content

The probe expanded after Musk’s AI chatbot Grok, integrated into X, generated posts denying the Holocaust and spreading sexually explicit deepfakes. One widely shared post falsely claimed Auschwitz gas chambers were used for “disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus”. Grok later admitted the error and pointed to historical evidence of mass killings, but the chatbot has previously posted antisemitic content, including praise for Adolf Hitler.

Also Read | Mother of one of Elon Musk’s children Ashley St Clair sues xAI over Grok deepfake images

X is already under pressure from Brussels, which fined the platform €120 million for breaching EU digital regulations. The European Commission last month launched a separate investigation after Grok produced non-consensual sexualised deepfake images.

Prosecutors have summoned Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino for voluntary interviews on April 20, with employees also due to be questioned as witnesses. Yaccarino served as CEO from May 2023 until July 2025.