The Nigerian Presidency has issued a clarification following a significant social media controversy over a photograph of President Bola Tinubu and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Paris.
The image, released on Sunday to document a private lunch between the two leaders, sparked widespread debate and accusations of being fake after users spotted a watermark for “Grok,” an artificial intelligence tool.
In a statement on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, dismissed the claims that the photograph was AI-generated. He explained that the image was authentic but had been taken with a mobile phone, resulting in poor initial quality.
According to Ajayi, the photographer subsequently used the Grok application solely to enhance the image clarity.
He confirmed that the meeting itself was genuine, noting that both presidents had lunch on Sunday to discuss global affairs before joining French President Emmanuel Macron for dinner later that evening.
Despite the official explanation, the incident has fuelled a broader conversation online regarding the use of AI tools in official government communications and the standards of digital transparency.
