By Deborah Nnamdi
The Presidency has dismissed claims that a photograph showing President Bola Tinubu and Rwandan President Paul Kagame having lunch in Paris, France, was generated using artificial intelligence.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, said the image was authentic and not AI-generated, contrary to claims circulating in the media and on social media.
“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 reports and social media comments that followed are a misrepresentation of facts. The picture is real and not AI-generated as claimed.”
Ajayi explained that the photograph was taken with a mobile phone and was initially of low quality, prompting the photographer to use the Grok application to enhance its clarity.
“The photographer only later used Grok to improve the picture quality. That is not a reason to conclude it was AI-generated,” he added.
The Presidency had released the photograph on Sunday, noting that both leaders met over lunch in Paris to discuss global affairs and strategies aimed at promoting Africa’s growth amid increasing global complexity.
However, the appearance of a Grok watermark on the image sparked widespread reactions online, with many Nigerians suggesting the photograph had been created using artificial intelligence.
Clarifying further, Ajayi said President Tinubu and President Kagame indeed met in Paris on Sunday, had lunch together and later joined French President Emmanuel Macron for dinner the same evening. He criticized commentators who drew conclusions without verification, saying they “should have asked questions before arriving at this wrong conclusion.”
