By Onoja Baba
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appears to have removed the prominent “Grok” watermark on an AI-generated image he shared on Facebook, while the original version with the marker remains visible on X (formerly Twitter) in a move that has sparked widespread skepticism and accusations of deception.
This apparent discrepancy, uncovered through a comparison of the posts, comes amid growing public outcry over the authenticity of a purported private lunch meeting between Tinubu and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Paris. Critics argue that the use of AI was driven by fear of backlash, highlighting ongoing concerns about transparency in the presidency’s communications.
The controversy erupted on Sunday, when Tinubu posted an image on X depicting himself and Kagame seated at a dining table, smiling amid plates of food and elegant decor. The caption read, “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 image, analyzed through visual tools, clearly bears a “Grok” watermark in the bottom-right corner, indicating it was processed or generated using Grok, an AI tool owned by X for content enhancement and fact-checking.
However, the same image shared on Tinubu’s official Facebook page shortly afterward lacked the watermark entirely. Checks by SecretsReporters, suggest the removal was a deliberate edit to mitigate immediate criticism. On X, editing capabilities are restricted for premium subscribers: users can modify text or reorder media within an hour of posting, but fully replacing or altering uploaded images post-publication is not possible without deleting and reposting the entire thread. This limitation likely explains why the watermarked version persists on X, where it has garnered over 2.7 million views and thousands of critical replies.
The timing of the post aligns with Tinubu’s announced travel itinerary. On December 28, 2025, the State House issued a statement indicating the president was heading to Europe for a year-end holiday, followed by participation in the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The Paris lunch was framed as a diplomatic engagement during this trip, but the AI involvement quickly drew scrutiny. Aides, including Special Assistant on Social Media Segun Dada, amplified the image across platforms with varying captions, such as Dada’s description, “President Bola Tinubu at a private lunch in Paris with the President of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame.”
Nigerians on social media were quick to spot the anomaly, leading to a torrent of reactions questioning the meeting’s veracity. One user, @JamiluSufi, highlighted the AI marker in a reply that amassed significant engagement. Another, @kvnqobi, lamented, “Chillin in Paris when the country is in shambles.” @adeewunmii simply asked, “Grok generated image?” while @flowzki expressed deeper disillusionment: “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!” @Mr_Gerrie01 queried, “Grok generated image? Is Kagame aware he had this meeting?” and @UnlimitedEniola shifted focus to domestic woes: “Nigerians are hungry.” More pointed critiques included @Omah_sila’s observation: “Nigeria don enter the era of ‘it happened, but did it really happen?'” and @eke_gg’s incredulous “Shey my eyes dey pain me abi nah grok I dey see?”
Even Grok itself chimed in on the thread, confirming: “Looks like that image was generated using my tools, it has my watermark, which I add to all AI creations to show they’re not real photos.” This self-acknowledgment fueled further debate, with users like @NejeebBello directly challenging the president: “Why did you have to post an AI image generated by @Grok?” The backlash extended beyond X, with posts from accounts like @xtr_africa labeling it a “#SCANDAL” and @fijnigeria noting the presidency’s silence on whether the image was “altered, edited or fabricated.”
Adding to the doubts, no corresponding mention of the meeting appears on Kagame’s official X account or that of the Rwandan presidency (@UrugwiroVillage). Kagame’s most recent post, dated November 26, 2025, celebrated an Arsenal football victory, with earlier updates focusing on a state visit to Qatar. Similarly, checks on Kagame’s Instagram, tagged in Tinubu’s Facebook post, revealed no reference to the lunch as of press time. This absence has led many to speculate that the encounter may not have occurred as described, or at least not in the manner portrayed.
In response to the mounting criticism, Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, issued a clarification on Monday, January 5, 2026. Ajayi stated, “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 misrepresentation of facts. The picture is real and not AI generated as claimed. Both President Kagame and President Tinubu met in Paris and had lunch together on Sunday (yesterday). The two leaders later had dinner with President Macron same yesterday evening. The picture was taken with a phone and obviously had poor quality. The photographer only later used grok to improve the picture quality. That is not a reason to conclude it was AI generated.” Despite this, the image remains unaltered on X and aides’ handles, while the edited version on Facebook continues to circulate without the watermark.
This incident is not isolated in Tinubu’s tenure, which has faced repeated accusations of opacity, from economic policies amid rising insecurity to past controversies like a 2019 headline resurfacing in memes where Tinubu called for then-President Goodluck Jonathan’s resignation over insecurity—ironically mirroring current critiques of his own administration.
The “Grok watermark” is triggering online debates, with some viewing it as a symptom of broader trust issues in Nigerian leadership.
As the story unfolds, it raises pressing questions about the use of AI in official communications: When does enhancement cross into misrepresentation? And why the platform-specific edits? With Nigeria grappling with hunger, insecurity, and economic turmoil, as echoed in user reactions, the presidency’s handling of this episode may only deepen public distrust.
At press time, neither the State House nor Kagame’s office has provided further verification of the meeting’s details.
