The Nigerian Presidency has dismissed social media claims that a photograph showing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with Rwandan President Paul Kagame during a meeting in Paris, France was artificially generated.
According to claims by the Presidency, AI was used only to enhance the Tinubu-Kagame meeting image quality after the original shot was taken.
The picture, shared over the weekend on President Tinubu’s X account and reposted by presidential aides, drew widespread attention due to a visible “Grok” watermark, leading some users to allege the image was generated by artificial intelligence.
Grok is an AI tool developed by xAI that can be used to enhance or create visual content.
In an official clarification, Temitope Ajayi, senior special assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, confirmed that the photograph was authentic and captured during a real private lunch meeting between the two leaders in Paris.
He said the image was taken with a mobile phone and initially had poor quality, prompting the photographer to use Grok to improve its clarity.
Ajayi emphasised that enhancing photo quality with AI does not mean the image was generated by AI, rejecting claims circulating online that the meeting itself was fabricated. He said President Tinubu and President Kagame had lunch together and later joined French President Emmanuel Macron for dinner during the visit.
The clarification seeks to quell misinformation that had spread on social platforms, with some users questioning the legitimacy of the photograph because of the AI tool watermark. Officials urged the media and the public to verify facts before drawing conclusions in an age where AI tools are commonly used for image enhancement.
The episode highlights growing public sensitivity about the use of artificial intelligence in official communications and the importance of clear messaging about technology’s role in enhancing, not falsifying, documented events.
