US government mislabels countries on map of Africa at global conference

The US State Department acknowledged 'an unfortunate error' after the highly inaccurate African map caused a stir.

The department acknowledged the “confusion” its map caused during a presentation at a global AIDS conference in Brazil.

The US State Department presented a map of Africa that mislabeled every nation on the continent that it attempted to highlight at the International AIDS Conference in Brazil this week.

A US government map of Africa mislabelled every country during a State Department presentation at a global conference taking place in Brazil this week, causing a stir among attendees who took screenshots and posted them online. Reuters viewed a ‌video of the presentation given at the Aids 2026 conference in Rio de Jane

Trump administration mislabels African countries in slideshow at AIDS conference MEE staff on Thu, 07/30/2026 - 19:05 The State Department said a staffer hastily arranged the map but did not apologise to its African partners at the event A screen shows a US government map of Africa with mi

Nigeria was depicted as a landlocked nation in the Sahara Desert rather than in West Africa.

Nigeria, a coastal country in western Africa, was landlocked in the Sahara, among other errors. The department said it had been “hastily altered.”

Oops! State Dept. Mislabels Every Country On A Map Of Africa At Global Conference  HuffPost

The US State Department blamed a staffer for the error amid a probe into whether it was made by AI

A US government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a State Department presentation at a global conference taking place in Brazil this week, causing a stir among attendees who took screenshots and posted them online.Reuters viewed a video of the presentation given at the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro

The map showed Nigeria as landlocked in the Sahara Desert, among other errors.

State department ‘takes full responsibility’ for erroneous, widely shared chart displayed at Aids conference in Brazil A US government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a state department presentation at a ⁠global conference in Brazil ⁠this week, ​causing a stir among attenders who took screenshots and post

A U.S. State Department presentation at a major global health conference has sparked criticism after an AI-generated map of Africa wrongly labelled every country on the continent.

US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference  Reuters

Brigadier General Paul G. Filcek, Director of Logistics at US AFRICOM, disclosed this during a digital press conference with African journalists on the ongoing 2026 Africa Logistics and Communications Symposium, co-hosted with the Ethiopian Ministry of Defence.