AI tool reportedly used to fabricate image of Nigerian 5,000-naira banknote
Social media users in Nigeria shared an image claiming the Central Bank of Nigeria had unveiled a new 5,000-naira banknote featuring President Bola Tinubu, but fact-checkers determined the image was generated using the AI tool Grok with the watermark partially obscured.
What happened
Social media users in Nigeria posted an image claiming the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had unveiled a new N5,000 banknote featuring President Bola Tinubu. The posts, dated 26 January 2025, stated the CBN Governor said this decision honours Tinubu for his contributions during his presidency.
Fact-checkers found that the image bore a Grok watermark, indicating it was generated using the Grok AI image generation tool. Users who posted the image had attempted to crop out the watermark.
Reported impact
The CBN had not released credible reports of plans to create new N5,000 notes in 2025, and such a move would have made headlines if it were genuine.
Index analysis
The CBN announced plans in 2012 to introduce N5,000 notes but backtracked on these plans in 2022. The CBN initiated a naira redesign in 2022 to counter counterfeiting.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.