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US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference
By Jessica DonatiJuly 30, 20263:28 PM GMT+3Updated 17 hours ago
A screen shows a U.S. government map of Africa with mislabeled countries during a State Department presentation at a global conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 26, 2026, in this picture... Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Read more
- Summary
- Companies
- State Department says staffer hastily altered slide deck before Rio event
- Reuters analysis finds map image carries OpenAI watermark
- Map places Nigeria in Sahara and shifts Mozambique and Ivory Coast
Reuters viewed a video of the presentation given at the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro, which shows the errant map displayed halfway during a presentation about the State Department's new health agreements.
The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.
00:09First female archbishop of Canterbury visits Asante king in Ghana
A Reuters analysis found the image of the map included in the presentation contained an artificial intelligence watermark that signals it was made with OpenAI tools. The company said it was investigating the report.
The State Department said it took "full responsibility" for the confusion caused and that the map had been produced by a team member who hastily changed the slide deck before the event.
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The map showed Nigeria, where the U.S. currently has several hundred troops deployed, as landlocked in the Sahara Desert. Mozambique, which is in southeastern Africa, was relocated to the Horn of Africa, while Ivory Coast in West Africa was placed on the other side of the continent.
Screenshots of the map first appeared in a Substack post by AIDS expert Emily Bass and were widely shared on LinkedIn, with one post garnering some 40,000 views.
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"Whoever created and approved this slide did not know where countries in Africa are and did not care to check their work," wrote Matt Petit, who focuses on AI and geopolitics at the Atlantic Council, in the post.
U.S. SAYS IT IS COMMITTED TO FIGHTING AIDS
In a statement, the State Department said: "We take full responsibility for the confusion and misrepresentation it caused for attendees, including our African partners."The speaker at the conference was Jeff Graham, the top U.S. health envoy who oversees an initiative known as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. He did not reply to requests for comment.
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The State Department said the discussions at the conference were "substantive and constructive" despite the map and that it remains committed to fighting AIDS with real results.
The Trump administration's decision last year to pause funding pending a review disrupted aid programs worldwide but PEPFAR's core work such as the provision of life-saving drugs has largely resumed.
The U.S. is scaling back other areas of its spending including on prevention and surveillance, and plans to fully phase out the program in South Africa.
Advertisement · Scroll to continueSubscribe
US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference
By Jessica DonatiJuly 30, 20263:28 PM GMT+3Updated 17 hours ago
A screen shows a U.S. government map of Africa with mislabeled countries during a State Department presentation at a global conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 26, 2026, in this picture... Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Read more
- Summary
- Companies
- State Department says staffer hastily altered slide deck before Rio event
- Reuters analysis finds map image carries OpenAI watermark
- Map places Nigeria in Sahara and shifts Mozambique and Ivory Coast
Reuters viewed a video of the presentation given at the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro, which shows the errant map displayed halfway during a presentation about the State Department's new health agreements.
The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.
00:09First female archbishop of Canterbury visits Asante king in Ghana
A Reuters analysis found the image of the map included in the presentation contained an artificial intelligence watermark that signals it was made with OpenAI tools. The company said it was investigating the report.
The State Department said it took "full responsibility" for the confusion caused and that the map had been produced by a team member who hastily changed the slide deck before the event.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue
The map showed Nigeria, where the U.S. currently has several hundred troops deployed, as landlocked in the Sahara Desert. Mozambique, which is in southeastern Africa, was relocated to the Horn of Africa, while Ivory Coast in West Africa was placed on the other side of the continent.
Screenshots of the map first appeared in a Substack post by AIDS expert Emily Bass and were widely shared on LinkedIn, with one post garnering some 40,000 views.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue
"Whoever created and approved this slide did not know where countries in Africa are and did not care to check their work," wrote Matt Petit, who focuses on AI and geopolitics at the Atlantic Council, in the post.
U.S. SAYS IT IS COMMITTED TO FIGHTING AIDS
In a statement, the State Department said: "We take full responsibility for the confusion and misrepresentation it caused for attendees, including our African partners."The speaker at the conference was Jeff Graham, the top U.S. health envoy who oversees an initiative known as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. He did not reply to requests for comment.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue
The State Department said the discussions at the conference were "substantive and constructive" despite the map and that it remains committed to fighting AIDS with real results.
The Trump administration's decision last year to pause funding pending a review disrupted aid programs worldwide but PEPFAR's core work such as the provision of life-saving drugs has largely resumed.
The U.S. is scaling back other areas of its spending including on prevention and surveillance, and plans to fully phase out the program in South Africa.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue