Reactions As Tinubu Shares AI-Generated Image Of Meeting With Rwanda President

President Bola Tinubu has come under criticism after sharing a photograph of a meeting with Rwandan President Paul Kagame that appears to have been artificially generated or altered using Grok AI.

President Tinubu’s verified X account posted the photo with the caption: “This afternoon, I had a private lunch with H. E. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda to discuss the current state of world affairs and advancing Africa in an ever-changing global landscape.”

The presidency may have intended to project Tinubu as holding diplomatic engagement during his ongoing vacation in Europe.

The image, which bore a visible Grok AI watermark, sparked reactions on X.

Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, shared the same photo and disclosed that the meeting took place in Paris on January 4, 2026.

“Why are you posting an AI generated picture? This picture was generated with Grok. The dishonesty in Aso rock is scary,” wrote @Xagreat.

Another X user, @flowzki, tweeted: “…what is even real in this administration at this point … [because] if handler can’t even know you cannot use an AI generated image for a presidential official presentation like this … omo smh!”

@Pharmacio001 described the action as a national embarrassment: “It is an insult to every Nigerian that a media aide to the President would share AI-generated images of him. This is completely unacceptable. You people are turning Nigeria into an object of ridicule before the world.

“A presidency that cannot distinguish reality from AI propaganda has no business managing a serious country. Nigeria deserves far better than this level of embarrassment.”

@felixherbt added, “Tinubu using AI-generated images to fake meetings with President Kagame is wrong. It shows disrespect for Nigerians and he believes he doesn’t need votes to stay in power, only INEC and the judiciary is enough for him.”

@pxperman wrote, “Why is Tinubu demarketing Nigeria by posting AI-generated photos on his official page? How can he be trusted with taxpayers’ funds when he engages in deceptive practices?”

However, @Real_Jaeflex suggested that the photo may be real “but they used grok to edit a part of it to look better.”

President Tinubu departed Lagos for Europe on December 28 as an extension of his end-of-year break.

He is scheduled to participate in the 2026 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week Summit after the vacation, on invitation of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The summit will be held under the theme: “The Nexus of Next: All Systems Go,” and will focus on linking ambition with action across innovation, finance, and human capital.

President Tinubu is expected to return to the country after the summit.