US State Department apologises for mislabelling Uganda, 5 other countries on map

• The US State Department apologised after incorrectly labelling Uganda and five other African countries on a map shown at the AIDS 2026 Conference in Brazil.

• Officials said the error resulted from last-minute changes made to the presentation before the event.

• Critics linked the mistake to staffing cuts and restructuring within the State Department.

The United States Department of State has apologised after displaying a map of Africa that incorrectly labelled Uganda and five other African countries during an international HIV/AIDS conference in Brazil, calling the mistake "an unfortunate error."

The inaccurate map was presented during the AIDS 2026 Conference in Rio de Janeiro, where it highlighted Uganda, Nigeria, Mozambique, Côte d'Ivoire, Malawi and Cameroon. However, each of the six countries was wrongly identified, with the labels pointing to incorrect locations on the continent.

Among the errors, Nigeria was shown as a landlocked country despite its Atlantic coastline, Mozambique was placed in the Horn of Africa instead of southeastern Africa, and Côte d'Ivoire appeared on the opposite side of the continent.

The mistake sparked criticism online after a photograph of the presentation was shared by AIDS expert Emily Bass. Reuters later reported that the map contained an artificial intelligence watermark indicating it had been created using OpenAI tools.

Responding to the backlash on Thursday, a State Department spokesperson accepted responsibility for the incident.

"This was an unfortunate error caused by a team member who hastily altered the slide deck immediately before the presentation at the AIDS 2026 Conference," the spokesperson said.

"We take full responsibility for the confusion and misrepresentation it caused for attendees, including our African partners."

The incident comes as the State Department continues to undergo major restructuring under President Donald Trump's administration, including deep cuts to global health funding and staffing changes that have seen many career officials leave the department.

Former State Department and National Security Council official for Africa Cameron Hudson linked the mistake to those staffing reductions.

"There isn't just a cost savings when eviscerating staff and expertise. There's a real cost in reputation and effectiveness," Hudson wrote on X.

He argued that reducing experienced personnel and increasing reliance on junior staff had weakened quality control, adding that similar problems could emerge in more sensitive areas of US foreign policy.

An analysis showed that the AI watermark has also renewed debate over the use of artificial intelligence in preparing official government presentations, particularly where factual accuracy and geographic information are involved.

Although the State Department acknowledged the mistake and apologised, it did not indicate whether new safeguards would be introduced to prevent similar errors in future presentations.