- A photo from President Tinubu’s meeting with Rwanda’s Paul Kagame sparked online controversy after a Grok watermark was spotted on the image.
- While critics questioned its authenticity, the presidency clarified that the meeting was real and the photo was only enhanced not generated using AI tools.
A photograph documenting a high-level meeting between President Bola Tinubu and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Paris has triggered a heated debate on social media after eagle-eyed users spotted a Grok watermark on the image.
The photo, which shows both leaders at a private lunch on Sunday, January 4, 2026, was initially shared by President Tinubu’s official account and later reposted by his Special Assistant on New Media, Dada Olusegun.
The presence of the watermark—indicating the use of xAI’s Grok chatbot—led many to question the authenticity of the meeting. Critics on X (formerly Twitter) accused the presidency of using generative AI to fabricate a diplomatic event rather than providing authentic coverage.
“Mr Dada Olusegun why are you using Grok to generate a picture of what was supposed to have happened? Is it incompetence or you are trying to tell us something?” — X user @[User]
Presidency Clarifies: “Enhanced, Not Generated”
In response to the backlash, presidency sources clarified that the event did indeed take place and was not a product of AI imagination. According to officials, the original photo taken during the lunch was of low quality due to lighting or equipment issues.
See some of trhe reactiobns trailing the post below:
Ademola wrote: “AI generated image ???? what is even real in this administration at this point … cos if handler can’t even know you cannot use an AI generated image for a presidential official presentation like this … omo smh!”
Deechairman said: “Breeze don blow we don see the fowl’s nyash , a whole president using AI picture . This man no just rate us at all.”
Necherem wrote: “Who authorized this embarrassing post? Must we lie about everything?”
Diplomat wrote: “I was informed by my brother, @sadiqGsadiq, that this image might be AI-generated. Considering how easy it is to manipulate images today, including adding someone to the empty chair in between you people, can you prove that this image is genuine and the news isn’t false?”
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