Austin, Texas – Last week, history teacher Margaret “Maggie” Thompson, a 52-year-old veteran educator at Westlake High School, banned students from citing Grokipedia after sophomore Alex Rivera used it to claim Napoleon Bonaparte was left-handed during a debate on the French Revolution.
The incident unfolded when Rivera, a self-proclaimed “Musk stan” and 16-year-old tech enthusiast, pulled up Grokipedia on his phone to counter a classmate’s point about Napoleon’s battle strategies. “See? Grokipedia says Napoleon wielded his sword left-handed like a boss, which totally explains why he lost at Waterloo – right-handers got the advantage!” Rivera exclaimed, waving his device triumphantly. Thompson, who had just introduced the class to Elon Musk’s new AI encyclopedia as a “fresh alternative to biased Wikipedia,” facepalmed and shot back, “Son, if Grok thinks Napoleon was ambidextrous with a side of memes, we’re all doomed – that’s not history, that’s fan fiction from Mars.”
The ban quickly escalated into a mini-firestorm at the school, with Rivera petitioning the principal for “AI rights” and Thompson drafting a memo emphasizing “verifiable sources only, no robot rumors.” Grokipedia’s launch last month, touted by xAI as a balanced rival to Wikipedia’s alleged left-wing slant, has fueled such classroom clashes nationwide, but this Texas twist highlights the pitfalls of AI-curated facts. “Next thing you know, it’ll claim the Alamo was won by Tesla bots,” Thompson quipped to colleagues.
As the dust settles, Westlake High is set to host a workshop on digital literacy next month, focusing on cross-checking AI outputs against traditional texts – a move that could inspire similar policies in Musk-friendly tech hubs, ensuring Grokipedia earns its stripes before conquering the history books.