The Presidential Administration clarifies the photo of Nicușor Dan with Donald Trump: the image is real and was not generated by artificial intelligence

The Presidential Administration returned on Friday evening, at around 10:40 p.m., with a clarification regarding the photograph in which President Nicușor Dan appears alongside Donald Trump. Cotroceni Palace specifies that the image is real and was taken by the official White House photographer at the reception hosted by the President of the United States in New York, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.

The clarification came after a false claim went viral on social media, according to which Nicușor Dan had been photographed with a cardboard cutout depicting Donald Trump. The first communication from the Presidential Administration, sent at around 9:00 p.m., described the false image as a satire created with the help of artificial intelligence, but the wording fueled further controversy online.

In the second statement, Cotroceni Palace explicitly emphasized that the photograph published on the X account of the President of Romania shows Donald Trump in person. The administration also explained why several European leaders published similar photographs only on Friday: only the official White House photographer had access to the reception, and the images were processed and distributed simultaneously to all participating delegations.