Michelle Dewberry lets rip on Ed Davey after Lib Dem leader's 'ridiculous' Elon Musk attack amid X controversy

In early January 2026, the chatbot was hit by global backlash after its image-generation and editing features were allegedly used to create non-consensual sexualised deepfakes of real people.

Posting on the platform, the Liberal Democrat leader wrote: “It’s good that Elon Musk has backed down in the face of consequences. But he must still be held to account for what he is: a purveyor of child pornography.”

The reports prompted governments in Malaysia and Indonesia to block access to Grok, while regulators in the UK and the US launched investigations into potential breaches of online safety laws.

Mr Musk denied reports that his AI chatbot, Grok, had generated illegal explicit images of minors, but XAI announced it would implement a universal restriction on images of real people in revealing clothing and limited all image generation/editing to paid subscribers only.

Sir Ed’s wording prompted immediate condemnation from several GB News figures, led by presenter Michelle Dewberry, who accused the Lib Dem leader of using language that risks trivialising child abuse.

Responding publicly, Ms Dewberry wrote: “Ignoring the obvious ridiculousness in your tweet (I’ll leave @elonmusk to deal with that) I must pull you up on something else @EdwardJDavey.

"THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CHILD PORNOGRAPHY. Child abuse is NOT a category of porn. Children cannot be ‘porn stars’. As a father yourself, I’m sure you know that…” (sic)

Other GB News figures quickly joined the criticism. Presenter Alex Armstrong wrote: “Wow this is low, even for Ed Davey."

The People's Channel US correspondent Ben Leo asked bluntly: “Are you drunk?”

The row triggered a broader debate online about terminology used to describe abusive imagery involving children.

Ignoring the obvious ridiculousness in your tweet (I’ll leave @elonmusk to deal with that) I must pull you up on something else @EdwardJDavey

**THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CHILD PORNOGRAPHY.**

Child abuse is NOT a category of porn.

Children cannot be ‘porn stars’.

As a father… https://t.co/HdaC3XDYJD

— Michelle Dewberry (@MichelleDewbs) January 16, 2026

Several users rallied behind Michelle’s argument that the phrase “child pornography” falsely implies consent or legitimacy.

However, one X user asked her directly: “If you have computer-generated imagery of a naked child, what words would you use to describe that?”

Michelle replied: “I’d call you a paedophile and I would refer you to the police.”

Another user challenged her stance, writing: “I’m not a fan of the buffoon Ed Davey, but you’re wrong… Look up the definition of pornography.”

To this, Michelle responded: “Calling it ‘child pornography’ helps normalise it to sick minds as a form of material that is somehow ok to view. It is not normal, it is not ok and there should be a complete separation between child abuse and porn.

"When you are viewing child abuse, you are viewing a crime scene & there is a victim whose life has been ruined.”

When accused of engaging in “literary pedantry”, the presenter pushed back: “You can call it what you want. I call it a crucial distinction and one which is essential to make in order to help protect children.”

Others were more critical of Sir Ed’s original post, with one user warning that his words were “defamatory and potentially criminal”, while another accused him of “grandstanding”.

The dispute unfolded against the backdrop of an ongoing investigation by UK regulator Ofcom, which is examining whether X has breached duties under the Online Safety Act following complaints about sexually explicit AI-generated content.

Government ministers have previously warned social media companies that failure to prevent the spread of illegal or harmful material could result in substantial fines or restrictions.