US state department uses AI-generated map that mislabels African countries at Brazil conference

The US State Department presented an AI-generated map at the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro that mislabeled and misplaced African countries including Nigeria, Mozambique, and Ivory Coast.

The map, created with OpenAI tools per Reuters, showed Nigeria as landlocked in the Sahara, Mozambique in the Horn of Africa, and Ivory Coast on the opposite side of the continent.

The State Department accepted responsibility, stating it took 'full responsibility for the confusion and misrepresentation it caused for attendees, including our African partners.'

The presentation was delivered by Jeff Graham, senior US health official overseeing PEPFAR, and the incident drew attention from attendees and online.