State Department’s map at AIDS conference mislabels countries in Africa
The Trump administration didn’t need another example of rank incompetence, but it’s stumbled onto one anyway. Reuters reported:
A U.S. government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a State Department presentation at a global conference taking place in Brazil this week, causing a stir among attendees who took screenshots and posted them online.
Reuters viewed a video of the presentation given at the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro, which shows the errant map displayed halfway during a presentation about the State Department’s new health agreements.
The State Department said it took “full responsibility” for the “unfortunate error” and blamed an unnamed staffer who “hastily altered” a slide deck before the event.
Part of the problem with this is the underlying circumstances: This was an international AIDS conference held as the United States is moving backwards on the issue, to the detriment of countless Africans.
As The New York Times reported, “The Trump administration’s cuts to the largest global H.I.V. program last year have resulted in drastic drops in both prevention efforts and treatment. The program, known as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, supported treatment for about 77,000 fewer children in 2025 than it had the previous year, a 14 percent decline, according to a study, the results of which are expected to be presented at the conference this week.”
Facing accusations of callousness and brutal indifference, the Trump administration managed to display a map that reinforced its critics’ worst fears.
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Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”
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