U.S. officials at a major health conference in Brazil displayed a map of Africa with multiple countries in incorrect positions, sparking an online uproar and forcing the State Department to apologize.
At the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro earlier this week, delegates filmed and screenshotted the badly flawed map and posted it online, drawing thousands of views and waves of mockery from social media users.
A video reviewed by Reuters shows the map appearing during a presentation by top U.S. health official Jeff Graham, head of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The talk centered on new, controversial health agreements between the State Department and African nations, following unprecedented aid cuts by the Trump administration that have caused human harm.
The map placed Nigeria in the Sahara Desert, while Mozambique—located in southeastern Africa—was shifted up to the Horn of Africa. Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa was moved to the opposite side of the continent. The borders on the map were blurred blobs, not reflecting any real country.
Reuters found the map contained a faint watermark suggesting it may have been created using OpenAI tools. The company confirmed it is investigating the incident.
The U.S. State Department on Thursday acknowledged the error as a “regrettable mistake.” In a statement, it said the map was created by a team member after a rushed edit ahead of the event. “We take full responsibility for the confusion and misrepresentation caused to delegates, including African partners,” the statement read, adding that discussions remained “substantive and constructive” and that the U.S. remains committed to fighting HIV/AIDS.
PEPFAR, launched under President George W. Bush, has supported treatment for up to 20 million people worldwide, especially in Africa, with life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART). Before the Trump administration paused HIV funding last year for review, PEPFAR was a cornerstone in the global fight against the pandemic.
PEPFAR’s core operations have since resumed, but the U.S. is still scaling back HIV prevention and surveillance efforts. Washington also plans to end the program in South Africa—the country with the world’s largest HIV burden.
