Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, has responded to claims that President Bola Tinubu’s 2026 Independence Day broadcast was generated using artificial intelligence, saying it found no apparent signs of AI generation in the video.
The response followed allegations by an X group, iOccupyNigeria, which questioned the authenticity of the televised address delivered by Tinubu on Thursday, October 1, as Nigeria marked its 66th Independence Anniversary.
The group raised concerns about the apparent synchronisation between the President’s mouth movements and his words, suggesting that artificial intelligence might have been used in producing the broadcast.
However, Grok, in a response to an X user on Friday, said the video appeared to be a genuine recording of Tinubu delivering his address from the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
According to Grok, the footage matched the full text of the speech published by several Nigerian media organisations, carried official branding and showed natural movements throughout the nearly 20-minute broadcast. It also noted that the video was posted by Tinubu’s verified account on the day of the address
“Modern AI-generated videos can be virtually indistinguishable from authentic content, making definitive determination difficult or impossible from visual inspection alone,” Grok stated.
The chatbot added that it found no signs of AI generation in the recording.
However, Grok’s response does not constitute conclusive forensic verification. Visual inspection and consistency with a published speech text cannot, on their own, definitively establish whether a video has been altered or processed using AI tools.
In his Independence Day address, Tinubu said Nigeria had moved beyond the most difficult phase of his administration’s economic reforms and was entering what he described as an “age of prosperity.”
The President defended the removal of the petrol subsidy and said his administration would focus on lowering the cost of living, expanding job opportunities, improving infrastructure and supporting businesses.
The speech drew criticism from opposition figures, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who described its promises as empty and likened them to “Yahoo Yahoo” promises.
The controversy over the broadcast has since shifted attention from its policy message to questions about the authenticity of the televised footage.
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