While announcing major investments in energy infrastructure this week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) seemed to make one key mistake—leaving out an entire state.
The DOE’s official account shared a graphic on X that appeared to show the entire United States, with the caption: "Yesterday, the Energy Department announced major investments toward Tribal communities energy infrastructure that will lower energy costs for Americans!"
But as the post gained more views online, people were quick to point out a fairly glaring mistake: Vermont was completely missing from the graphic.
In a community note on X, viewers had simply written: "Vermont?" In the comments, users questioned the omission asking where the state was, with some suggesting AI had been used to create the map.
Newsweek reached out to the DOE via email for comment and was not able to confirm if AI had been used for the graphic.
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What Is the DOE’s Funding Plan?
On October 22, the DOE announced that 63 Tribal-led energy projects had been selected for negotiations over more than $125 million in federal funding.
Projects include bringing electricity to Tribal homes that currently don’t have it, converting others to natural-gas heating and upgrading infrastructure in communities.
DOE said the selections were consistent with President Donald Trump's "Unleashing American Energy" executive order. The department said Tribal households face energy costs 28 percent higher than the national average and that about 17,000 Tribal homes lack electricity.
The graphic offered a snapshot of how many projects are planned in each state, with the largest number in Alaska and Oklahoma.
Other Government Map and Graphic Mishaps
This is not the first time the Trump administration has shared public materials with an embarrassing mistake.
In December 2025, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was left red-faced when he attended a cabinet meeting where a placard labeled his role in the administration as "SSecretary of War."
The typo was quickly noticed—and mocked—by opponents like California Governor Gavin Newsom. He hinted at a similarity to Nazi Germany’s SS. "What does the "SS" stand for? Interesting!" the Democrat wrote on social media at the time.
In July 2026, another map mishap caused a problem for the administration when a government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a State Department presentation.
A Reuters analysis of the image found signs it had been made with OpenAI tools. In a statement, the State Department said: "We take full responsibility for the confusion and misrepresentation it caused for attendees, including our African partners."
Most recently, in September, another spelling error was pointed out when the president met with tech executives about artificial intelligence at the White House.
But as Trump and the group of tech CEOs and founders signed the president’s accord on "Super Intelligence," a mistake was spotted when Trump’s signature was labeled "President of the Unites States."
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and James Debens