Claims that a photo of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Paris was produced by artificial intelligence have been refuted by the presidency.
After both citizens and foreigners questioned the image’s authenticity, Mr. Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, provided an explanation on Monday, January 5.
The Presidency claims that the photo, which was posted on his Facebook page by Presidential spokesperson Mr. Bayo Onanuga, is authentic and was taken on Sunday, January 4, during an official meeting between the two leaders in Paris.
“The narrative that the picture of Presidents Bola Tinubu and Paul Kagame taken in Paris yesterday was AI generated is not correct,” Ajayi said in a statement.
“The media report and social media comments that followed are misrepresentations of facts.”
Ajayi explained that Presidents Tinubu and Kagame met in Paris on Sunday, where they had lunch together before later joining French President Emmanuel Macron for dinner the same evening.
He clarified that the photograph in question was taken with a mobile phone, which affected its initial quality. According to him, the image was later enhanced using digital tools to improve clarity, but this did not make it an AI-generated image.
“The picture is real and not AI generated as claimed. The photographer only later used Grok to improve the picture quality. That is not a reason to conclude it was AI generated,” he stated.
Ajayi criticised the reports that described the image as fake.
The Presidency urged the media and members of the public to exercise caution and verify information before circulating claims that could mislead the public.
