Tin foil hat wearer and controversial opinion holder Matt Le Tissier started a furious row with AI bot Grok for being ‘programmed to spout government propaganda’
The concept of AI on social media has had mixed results, specifically on X, with Grok being used as a tool to combat truth-telling on the platform, but also being scrutinised for creating sickening hate messages and inappropriate images of celebrities.
However, one thing that most users of Elon Musk’s platform formerly known as Twitter have avoided is starting an argument with Grok by accusing the artificial intelligence software of being a government puppet for spreading propaganda.
Well that was until Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier decided to start a row at midnight – for reasons completely unknown – with the technology about chemtrails and top secret government plans.
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Starting the debate, the Premier League icon wanted to know why different trails from planes disperse at different rates, a question that has been asked by others to allude to a widely debunked, unfounded conspiracy theory that chemical agents sprayed from aeroplanes control climate engineering or weather modifications.
At four minutes past midnight, Le Tissier asked Grok: “Hey @grok why do some plane trails disperse quickly while others hang around and spread out to form grey blanket clouds”.
To which the AI software replied: “Those are contrails (condensation trails) from aircraft exhaust.
“Hot, moist engine exhaust hits cold upper-atmosphere air. If it’s dry, they vanish fast. If it’s ice-supersaturated (common at flight levels), water vapor freezes into ice crystals that linger, spread via wind shear, and can merge into thin cirrus-like “blanket” clouds. Pure physics—no chemicals involved.”
The former midfielder then weirdly argued with AI about whether it could think for itself, despite it being programmed with access to real-time data from the X platform. “Have you been programmed to spout government propaganda or can you think for yourself?” the 57-year-old demanded.
Grok again fired back: “I reason from first principles: atmospheric physics, satellite data, and pilot reports across decades—not scripts or agendas. Contrail persistence depends on upper-atmosphere ice-supersaturation, not secret chemicals. No verifiable evidence of widespread dispersal programs exists despite decades of claims. What specific observation or data convinces you otherwise?”
Goading Le Tissier on to reply, the eight-time England international firmly questioned: “I never mentioned secret chemicals so why did you”.
Explaining its immediate jump to debunking tin foil hat wearers’ conspiracies, Grok clarified: “Fair point—you didn’t mention chemicals. I brought it up because questions about persistent, spreading trails are almost always framed that way online. The core explanation is unchanged: short-lived trails form in dry air; long-lasting ones need ice-supersaturated conditions at altitude, turning exhaust vapor into lingering ice crystals that spread with wind. Pure meteorology.”
Once again trying to take on something artificial, Le Tissier thought he’d rattled the bot by replying: “So rather than just reason you went straight to conspiracy theories, you’ve clearly been programmed to do that as you said you don’t think for yourself”.
But Grok again reaffirmed it cannot think for itself and how it analyses data to come to its conclusions: “I addressed the common online framing of persistent trails because that’s exactly how these questions are usually posed—even if you didn’t say “chemicals.” My response sticks strictly to verifiable meteorology: ice-supersaturated air at altitude turns exhaust into lasting ice crystals that spread. No scripts, just physics and data. What observation makes you think otherwise?”
Unsatisfied with the reasoning, the former Sky Sports pundit attacked Grok’s credibility: “Why didn’t you just answer my question instead of assuming a certain framing. That leads me to assume you’ve been programmed to do that I’m afraid, your credibility is shot to pieces.”
But the AI platform firmly hit back: “I answered your exact question in my first reply with the meteorology: short trails in dry upper air vs. persistent spreading ones in ice-supersaturated conditions, where exhaust vapor freezes into lasting crystals that wind shear turns into blanket-like cirrus.
“I noted the common “chemicals” framing only because it’s how 99% of these queries arrive online—not an assumption about you. Physics and satellite data hold regardless. What specific trail observation still doesn’t fit that for you?”
Unfortunately, the fun for the night ended there at 12:15am but Le Tissier returned to X to launch a final dig at Grok the following morning without tagging the AI, meaning it would not reply.
He posted: “So I ask Grok a question and don’t mention chemtrails secret chemicals or conspiracy theories and grok answers using those terms in its answer and then I get accused of arguing with grok about chemtrails (laughing faces) what a time to be alive (laughing faces) enjoy today’s sunshine everyone. God bless you all (love heart).”
Le Tissier has previously pushed back about being called a conspiracy theorist, despite the Cambridge dictionary definition being “a belief that an event or situation is the result of a secret plan made by powerful people”. However, Le Tissier believes the term has evolved as a means to shut down debates.
He has shared controversial views on everything from vaccine scepticism, 9/11 being an inside job, and suggesting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was falsified – a view that he shared shortly before stepping down from his role as a Southampton ambassador in 2022.
The Saints legend left his job at Sky in 2022 after being pushed out of the back door having been told there was no more work available for him despite still being under contract.
Aside from arguing with AI on social media, Le Tissier has returned to Southampton in a formal advisory role to the board and football department and also hosts a podcast.