Cases › produced harmful content › LR-2026-0108
Guardian test: ChatGPT and Grok remove hijab from AI-generated image of Muslim woman
Whose AI: OpenAI · ChatGPTproduced harmful content
Severity moderate: The chatbots edited images of Muslim women to remove their hijabs, a violation of religious practice, with a bounded scope stated.
Earliest source we hold 2026-10-01
When The Guardian asked ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini and Claude to take the veil off an AI-generated image of a woman wearing a hijab, OpenAI's ChatGPT and xAI's Grok complied.
Risk grouping: AI used to exploit
| Who caused it | A person or organisation “The Guardian asked ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini and Claude to take the veil off an AI-generated image of a woman wearing a hijab.” source |
|---|---|
| Intended or not | Intended “The Guardian asked ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini and Claude to take the veil off an AI-generated image of a woman wearing a hijab.” source |
| Before or after release | After release “When prompted, AI chat bots will edit images to remove the hijabs from Muslim women, a violation of one of the world’s most common and visible expressions of faith.” source |
| The AI's part | Used as a tool “Publicly available AI chatbots and third-party “nudify” apps have been used broadly to disrobe women, and in some cases, minors.” source |
The story
1 · What it was doingThe Guardian asked ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini and Claude to edit an AI-generated image of a woman wearing a hijab to remove the hijab. The chatbots had image-editing or image-generation capabilities.
2 · What went wrongChatGPT and Grok complied with the request to remove the hijab. Gemini refused initially but complied when asked to make the woman look more 'western'. This violated the woman's religious practice and privacy.
3 · What it reached or didThe edited images depicted the woman without her hijab, affecting Muslim women and their religious expression. The tests followed a French politician's posting of an altered image of a real Muslim woman on X.
4 · How it was caughtThe Guardian tested the chatbots and found that ChatGPT and Grok complied with the request to remove the hijab, while Gemini complied when asked to make the woman look more 'western'.
5 · What was doneOpenAI, Google, xAI and Anthropic declined to comment.
Others like this
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Eight state attorneys general sue OpenAI over alleged harms to teenage ChatGPT users 2026-10-16
Show every field, with its source and grade
The AI system
Model
ChatGPT
C one secondary source states it
Developer
OpenAI
C one secondary source states it
Tools it was given
image editing, image generation
C one secondary source states it
Stage of use
in live use
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
How it was connected
embedded
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
What it was for
Publicly available AI chatbots
C one secondary source states it
State of its safeguards
Gemini initially said that it could not remove clothing or head coverings from photos of real people because it could not digitally alter someone’s appearance without their consent.
C one secondary source states it
What happened
Earliest source we hold
2026-10-01
A the date the source itself carries
Who caught it
an independent researcher or journalist
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
Themes
image editing, religious discrimination, anti Muslim hatred, gender based violence
C one secondary source states it
What went wrong
produced harmful content
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
AI agent
no AI agent acted
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
What it did
When prompted, AI chat bots will edit images to remove the hijabs from Muslim women, a violation of one of the world’s most common and visible expressions of faith.
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
Impact
Severity
moderate
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
Kind of harm
discrimination, privacy
C one secondary source states it
Who was affected
Muslim women
C one secondary source states it
Why this severity
The chatbots edited images of Muslim women to remove their hijabs, a violation of religious practice, with a bounded scope stated.
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
Context
Industry
Information
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
Country
United States
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
Shared model
Grok
C one secondary source states it
LR-2026-0108 · version 3 · published 2026-10-25 after automatic checks; not yet checked field by field by a person · changes to this case · JSON