Tinubu–Kagame Paris Photograph Is Authentic, Presidency Says
The Presidency has dismissed claims that a widely circulated photograph showing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria with President Paul Kagame of Rwanda in Paris was generated using artificial intelligence, describing the reports as a misrepresentation of facts.
In a statement issued on Monday, Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, said the image is real and was taken during an in-person meeting between the two leaders on Sunday in Paris.
According to the statement, Presidents Tinubu and Kagame met and had lunch together earlier in the day, before later joining French President Emmanuel Macron for dinner the same evening. The photograph in question was taken using a mobile phone, which accounted for its initial poor quality.
Ajayi explained that the photographer later used Grok, an artificial intelligence tool, solely to enhance the image quality, stressing that this does not mean the photograph itself was AI-generated.
“The narrative that the picture was AI generated is not correct,” the statement said, adding that reports by Vanguard newspaper and subsequent social media commentary were based on incorrect assumptions.
The Presidency criticized the conclusion drawn from the image, noting that proper verification should have been conducted before publishing claims questioning its authenticity.
The clarification comes amid increased public scrutiny of digital images and the growing use of artificial intelligence tools in media and photography.
