The Nigerian Presidency has rejected claims circulating in sections of the media and on social platforms suggesting that a recent photograph showing Bola Ahmed Tinubu with Paul Kagame in Paris was artificially generated.
Okay News reports that the clarification was issued on Monday by Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, following widespread speculation over the authenticity of the image.
Ajayi described the claims as false and misleading, stressing that the photograph was taken during an actual meeting between the two leaders in the French capital.
“The narrative that the picture of Presidents Bola Tinubu and Paul Kagame taken in Paris yesterday was AI generated is not correct. The media report and social media comments that followed are a misrepresentation of facts,” Ajayi said.
According to him, President Tinubu and President Kagame met in Paris on Sunday, where they shared lunch before later attending an evening dinner hosted by Emmanuel Macron.
“The picture is real and not AI generated as claimed,” Ajayi emphasised.
He further explained that the confusion arose from the quality of the image, noting that it was initially captured with a mobile phone, which affected its clarity.
“The photograph was originally taken with a mobile device, which is why it appeared low in quality. The photographer later used Grok to improve the picture quality. That is not a reason to conclude it was AI generated,” he added.
Ajayi criticised the spread of the claims, saying proper verification would have prevented the misinformation.
“The writer or editor should have asked questions before this wrong conclusion,” he said.
