The Presidency has clarified that the viral image of President Bola Tinubu meeting with Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, which bore a Grok watermark, was not generated by artificial intelligence but merely enhanced using the AI tool.

According to sources within the presidency, the original photograph of the private lunch in Paris, France, on Sunday was of lower quality, and Grok was used to improve the image.

Despite this clarification, the image, shared on Tinubu’s X account, quickly drew attention online due to the visible Grok watermark.

Dada Olusegun, the President’s Special Assistant on New Media, also reposted the image, prompting criticism from several Nigerians who accused him of sharing an AI-generated picture of the meeting.

One user questioned Olusegun directly on X, asking, “Why are you using Grok to generate a picture of what was supposed to have happened? Is it incompetence, or are you trying to tell us something?”

The controversy has sparked wider discussions about the use of AI in official communications, with many calling for transparency and caution when enhancing or altering images associated with high-profile events.

Recall that President Tinubu had departed Lagos for Europe on December 28 as part of his end-of-year break.