The Presidency has responded to growing public debate surrounding a viral photograph showing Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a meeting with Paul Kagame in Paris, France.
The image, which carried a visible Grok watermark, triggered widespread reactions online, with many Nigerians questioning its authenticity and accusing the Presidency of circulating an AI-generated photograph. Critics described the development as embarrassing and inappropriate for an official presidential communication.
Presidency Debunks AI-Generated Claims
Reacting to the controversy, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed the allegations, insisting that the photograph was genuine.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Onanuga described the AI claims as false and rooted in misinformation. He urged Nigerians and media practitioners to verify facts before drawing conclusions.
According to him, the photograph was taken during a real meeting between President Tinubu and President Kagame in Paris on Sunday.
“STOP PRESS! The narrative that the picture of Presidents Bola Tinubu and Paul Kagame taken in Paris yesterday was AI generated is not correct,” Onanuga wrote.
“The picture is real and not AI generated as claimed. Both leaders met and had lunch together on Sunday. They later had dinner with President Macron the same evening.”
Grok Used for Image Enhancement, Not Generation
Onanuga explained that the confusion arose because the photograph was initially captured with a mobile phone and appeared low in quality. He said the image was later enhanced using xAI’s Grok tool, which automatically added a watermark.
He stressed that enhancing an image with AI software does not make it AI-generated.
“The photographer only used Grok to improve the picture quality. That is not a reason to conclude it was AI generated. The writer or editor should have asked questions before reaching such a wrong conclusion,” he added.
Public Reactions Remain Mixed
Despite the official clarification, conversations have continued across social media platforms. While some Nigerians accepted the Presidency’s explanation, others remain sceptical about the increasing use of AI tools in official government communications and called for clearer disclosure standards going forward.
The Presidency has not indicated whether new guidelines will be introduced regarding the use of AI-enhanced images in official releases.
