FIREwire — August 1, 2025

Grok lands itself in hot water, Spotify faces probe over Joe Rogan, and Florida lawmaker threatens school funding over Hulk Hogan insult

Grok AI kicks off scandal by exposing Texas lawmaker’s alleged affair

The xAI chatbot Grok sparked controversy this week when it published allegations that Texas Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, author of the state’s abortion ban, has been having an affair with a former exotic dancer and paying for her abortions.

Grok broke the story by aggregating online rumors before the conservative site Current Revolt could upload an interview with the former dancer, who described a 17-year affair with Capriglione.

Capriglione’s attorney warned the outlet not to publish, noting how other outlets have paid millions to settle defamation lawsuits with President Trump. Experts say the outlet is likely shielded by the First Amendment and Texas’s anti-SLAPP law.

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House committee probes Spotify over alleged censorship of Joe Rogan

The House Judiciary Committee, led by Jim Jordan, is probing whether the Biden administration and EU pushed Spotify to censor Joe Rogan and Steve Bannon.

Spotify has faced backlash for flagging Rogan’s content and banning Bannon from the platform over their comments on Covid-19, including that Ivermectin can cure it.

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UCLA found in violation of Title VI

The Department of Justice has concluded that UCLA violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, in its handling of antisemitic and anti‑Israeli harassment on campus.

This is yet another example of the government using what FIRE has labeled the cumulative theory of harassment, whereby individual acts of different people and at different times and places, including protected expression, are said to combine to cumulatively create a hostile environment.

That said, many individuals named in the letter did face a hostile environment at UCLA — and while this came from the DOJ, not the Department of Education, at least it followed a formal process, unlike the ad hoc chaos at Columbia and Harvard.

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Florida lawmaker threatens school funding over Hulk Hogan insult

Florida Rep. Kat Cammack hinted that Alachua school district may lose federal funding after Sarah Rockwell, the school board chair, mocked Hulk Hogan’s recent death by writing on Facebook, “Good. One less MAGA in the world.”

Cammack, seeing Rockwell’s remarks shared on X, remarked, “As their federal Representative, I look forward to meeting with Sarah and @AlachuaSchools to discuss their federal funding.”

Federal funds to schools come with conditions on how money can be spent, but there’s no legal basis to revoke funding due solely to a board member’s social media post.

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Also in the news

• Marco Rubio condemns Hong Kong arrest warrants for “activists for exercising freedom of expression.”

• Trump (again) says networks’ licenses “could, and should, be revoked.”

• The Smithsonian quietly removed Trump’s impeachments from its presidential exhibit, sparking backlash over political whitewashing of history.

• After resigning from Harvard, former philosophy professor Jimmy Doyle is condemning its restrictions on academic speech, especially around trans issues.

• Columbia University history professor and Palestinian-American Rashid Khalidi resigned to protest Columbia’s $200 million deal with the Trump administration, saying it undermines free inquiry.