Photo of Tinubu and Kagame in Paris is genuine, says Presidency

The Presidency has dismissed claims suggesting that a photograph of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Paris was generated using artificial intelligence (AI).

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, described the narrative as “false and misleading,” noting that the image was taken during an official engagement between the two leaders on Sunday.

“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. He further emphasized that reports and social media comments claiming otherwise misrepresented the facts.

Ajayi explained that the photograph, shared by the Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga on Facebook, was captured using a mobile phone, which affected its quality. The image was later digitally enhanced using Grok, an AI tool, solely to improve clarity, and not to generate or alter the photo.

“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,” Ajayi added.

The Presidency urged journalists and the public to verify information before spreading unsubstantiated claims, stressing that the photo accurately depicts the official meeting, during which Tinubu and Kagame had lunch before later joining French President Emmanuel Macron for dinner.

Ajayi also criticized media outlets for failing to seek clarification before publishing reports that wrongly characterized the image.

“The writer or editor should have asked questions before drawing this wrong conclusion,” he said, calling for responsible reporting.

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