The US State Department has apologised after officials displayed a map that incorrectly labelled African countries during a presentation in Brazil ahead of the AIDS 2026 conference.
The Advocate reported on Thursday that every country identified on the map was misplaced, with Nigeria shown inland, Mozambique moved north of Uganda and several other countries incorrectly labelled.
The State Department said it took "full responsibility" for the error, explaining that the map had been produced by a team member who hastily revised the presentation before the event, according to the report.
The outlet also said the slide carried a watermark indicating it had been created using OpenAI technology.
Despite the error, the United States hailed "substantive and constructive" discussions at the conference.
The 26th International AIDS Conference opened on Monday in Rio de Janeiro after the United States drastically reduced its international aid budget following Donald Trump's return to the White House last year.
Despite the massive cuts, the United States still accounts for 74% of public funding devoted to combating HIV worldwide, according to a UNAIDS report published for the Rio conference.
