US government mislabels countries on map of Africa at global conference

A map of Africa displayed by US State Department officials during a presentation at the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, mislabeled the locations of multiple African countries, prompting attendees to photograph and share the errors online. The map showed Nigeria placed in the Sahara and misplaced other countries including Mozambique and Ivory Coast, with country boundaries reduced to inaccurate blobs. The State Department acknowledged the error, saying the map had been hastily altered by a team member before the event and that it took full responsibility for the confusion caused. Reuters reported the map contained a watermark indicating it was likely created using OpenAI tools, which said it was investigating.