The Presidency has firmly dismissed claims circulating in sections of the media and on social platforms that a photograph showing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Paris was generated using artificial intelligence, describing the narrative as false and misleading.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, clarified that the image in question was taken during a real meeting between the two African leaders in Paris and only underwent basic enhancement to improve its quality.
“The narrative that the picture of Presidents Bola Tinubu and Paul Kagame taken in Paris yesterday was AI generated is not correct,” Ajayi said. “The media report and social media comments that followed are misrepresentation of facts. The picture is real and not AI generated as claimed.”
Ajayi explained that President Tinubu and President Kagame met in Paris on Sunday, where they had lunch together before later joining French President Emmanuel Macron for dinner the same evening. According to him, the photograph was taken with a mobile phone, which accounted for its initial poor quality.
“The picture was taken with a phone and obviously had poor quality,” he said. “The photographer only later used Grok to improve the picture quality. That is not a reason to conclude it was AI generated.”
The presidential aide criticised those who hastily labelled the image as artificial, stressing that basic verification could have prevented the spread of misinformation. He noted that the use of digital tools to enhance image clarity should not be confused with the creation of fake or AI-generated content.
“The writer or editor should have asked questions before this wrong conclusion,” Ajayi added.
The clarification comes amid growing public debate over the use of artificial intelligence in media content and the increasing scrutiny of images involving public figures. The Presidency urged media organisations and social media users to exercise caution, verify information thoroughly and avoid amplifying unsubstantiated claims that could mislead the public.
The meeting between Presidents Tinubu and Kagame, followed by their engagement with President Macron, is understood to be part of ongoing high-level diplomatic interactions focused on strengthening bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
