“Excluding the fake photo itself — as it will remain under seal — there is nothing inherently stigmatizing about disclosing the fact that a detailed photo was created of South Carolina Doe without disclosing the photo itself,” the attorneys wrote in one of their May 15 filings. “As a result, this case does not involve the kinds of compelling privacy interests traditionally recognized as requiring a pseudonym.”
Neither xAI nor lawyers representing the company responded to WIRED’s request for comment on the case.
Danielle Citron, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law who specializes in dealing with digital harassment, says civil cases where people are ordered to sue using their real names can lead to lawsuits being dismissed, creating an “unacceptable and unfair” situation. “Forcing plaintiffs in private lawsuits to sue in their own names does little for judicial transparency and prevents litigation,” Citron tells WIRED.
All four pseudonymous plaintiffs in the case, according to their legal filings on May 29, would consider withdrawing from the case if their names were revealed. In these recent filings, attorneys for the creditors say xAI’s request should be denied, adding that the case concerns “personal and embarrassing fakes featuring the Plaintiffs that were distributed without their consent.”
The South Carolina Doe described how they found her false claim “in a bikini” online and said it showed her body “in a way that I would never share in public.” They claim they were worried about what their employers or co-workers would think if they saw the photo, and feared being targeted more online. “I was also disgusted by the idea of what the person who asked Grok to create a detailed image was doing with the image,” they wrote.
“If I were forced to publicly disclose my name as part of this lawsuit, I would fear that those who support Elon Musk, his companies, and Grok, who I have found to be very vocal online, would find my name in the public record, distribute it, block me, and retaliate against me by creating additional and worse lies about me,” the filing says.
Similar reports from other alleged victims describe experiencing “extreme emotional distress,” shame, and shock at seeing images created without their consent. Broadly, other victims of deep sexual abuse and unacceptable images have expressed feelings in similar ways.
One man, named a New Jersey Doe in the lawsuit, says they saw people on X using Grok to create sexual images and sent a request that “Grok not create images of me without my consent.” The next day, court records say, he discovered two fake photos of her, including one that showed her “spreading her cheeks.” He says he believed the message to Grok asking him not to lie to him “brought my account to the online scammers who were using Grok to harass and cause grief.”
