The Presidency has dismissed claims that a photograph showing President Bola Tinubu with Rwandan Paul Kagame in Paris was generated using artificial intelligence, describing the reports as misleading. In a statement on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, said the controversy amounted to a "misrepresentation of facts," insisting that the image was authentic and taken during an actual meeting between the two leaders.
Ajayi explained that President Tinubu and President Kagame met in Paris on Sunday, where they shared lunch and later joined French President Emmanuel Macron for dinner. He said, “The narrative that the picture of Presidents Bola Tinubu and Paul Kagame taken in Paris yesterday was AI-generated is not correct.”
According to him, the confusion arose because the original photograph was taken with a mobile phone and later enhanced for clarity using the Grok tool. “The picture was taken with a phone and obviously had poor quality. The photographer only later used Grok to improve the picture quality. That is not a reason to conclude it was AI-generated,” Ajayi said.
He criticised journalists and commentators who promoted the claim without verification, adding, “The writer or editor should have asked questions before this wrong conclusion.”
The image, which bore a Grok watermark, circulated widely on social media after being shared on President Tinubu’s official X handle. In the post, the President wrote, “This afternoon, I had a private lunch with H.E. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda to discuss the current state of world affairs and advancing Africa in an ever-changing global landscape.” His Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, also shared the photograph, noting that the meeting took place on Sunday, January 4, 2026.
Despite official clarifications, a Community Note attached to the post suggested the image might be AI-generated because of the Grok badge, fuelling broader debate about the use of AI-enhanced images in official government communications. President Tinubu has been in Europe since December 28, following his departure from Lagos for an end-of-year break.
