The U.S. State Department has acknowledged an "unfortunate error" after a map used during a presentation at a global HIV conference incorrectly depicted several African countries. The erroneous map appeared on a slide during a presentation about U.S. funding for HIV programs at the 26th International Aids Conference in Rio de Janeiro.
Nigerians might have been surprised to learn they lived in a landlocked country, and people in Ivory Coast to discover they were located in East Africa, according to the map. The cartographic errors also included unrecognizably shaped countries. Specifically, Nigeria, Mozambique, and Ivory Coast were misplaced. Malawi and Uganda were depicted with incorrect shapes, while Cameroon was mentioned but not clearly linked to a country on the map.
The State Department stated that the error occurred when a team member "hurriedly altered" the slide deck before the event, and the department took "full responsibility for the confusion and misrepresentation it caused for attendees, including our African partners." The mistake came to light after HIV/Aids expert Emily Bass shared a photograph of the slide on her Substack newsletter, drawing criticism online. An analysis by Reuters found an artificial intelligence watermark on the image, suggesting it was created using AI tools. OpenAI has stated it is investigating the report.
The presentation was delivered by a senior U.S. official overseeing the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR), a flagship global HIV program. The incident has drawn sharp remarks from lawmakers, with Senator Jeanne Shaheen attributing the error to the State Department firing career experts and relying on AI for diplomacy. A former State Department official called the mistake "stupid and embarrassing," attributing it to junior staff performing work with insufficient supervision.
The conference took place against the backdrop of significant U.S. cuts to foreign aid. While PEPFAR's core life-saving HIV treatment programs have largely continued, the U.S. is scaling back spending in other areas, including prevention and disease surveillance, and plans to phase out the program in South Africa. Despite the map controversy, the State Department reported that discussions at the conference were "substantive and constructive" and reaffirmed its commitment to combating HIV/Aids globally.