How to spot AI fakes of Pope Leo
Beware of AI-Generated “Papal” content online
How to spot fakes so you don’t share falsehoods or can correct someone who does
By ANDREW HANSEN
Editor
Artificial intelligence (AI) has opened new doors for creativity but also for confusion and deception. In recent months, Pope Leo XIV has become the subject of several AI-generated deepfakes circulating on social media. These fake videos and fake audios misrepresent his words, spread false claims, and risk confusing the faithful.
Recent examples:
- Fake video message to Burkina Faso’s President:
A 36-minute deepfake uploaded to YouTube used real footage of Pope Leo XIV but altered his lip movements and added a synthetic English voiceover. It falsely showed him praising President Ibrahim Traoré. The Vatican confirmed the video was fabricated. (Deutsche Welle, Vatican News, DW News) - Channel of fabricated sermons:
A YouTube channel titled “Pope Leo XIV’s Sermons” uploaded AI-generated texts voiced with synthetic audio. While they imitated papal style, none of the sermons were real. YouTube terminated the channel for deceptive practices. (ZENIT, Aleteia, CatholicVote) - False attack on U.S. Vice President JD Vance:
A viral Instagram post claimed Pope Leo XIV denounced Vice President Vance’s comments about President Joe Biden’s health. Fact-checkers confirmed the audio was AI-generated. (AFP Fact Check) - Fake homilies on “Church changes:”
A video circulating on YouTube claimed to show Pope Leo XIV speaking in English about sweeping Church reforms. The images and voice were manipulated, and no record of such a homily exists. (PressOnePH) - Blessed salt hoax:
Another video featured a voice claiming to be the pope, urging Catholics to put blessed salt around their homes to ward off evil. AI detection tools flagged the audio as fake. The Vatican confirmed the pope never made this statement.
How to spot AI-generated, fake content (while these tips focus on Catholic news, these tips also apply to anything you see on social media)
- Check the source
- Did the content come from an official account? (e.g., Vatican News, Catholic News Agency, or the pope’s verified social media channels)
- If it’s only on a random YouTube/TikTok/Instagram/Facebook page with no credibility, be skeptical.
- Look for news coverage
- Big announcements/comments from the pope or the Vatican always make headlines in multiple Catholic and secular outlets.
- If you can’t find the same story from reputable media, it’s likely fake.
- Examine the video/audio quality
- Lip-sync mismatches: AI “morphing” often causes lips not to align perfectly with words.
- Strange pauses or tone: Voices may sound too flat, robotic, or inconsistent with how the pope normally speaks.
- Blurry or warped visuals: Hands, glasses, or background details might look distorted.
- If you see a video where you only hear the person and then it’s several different shots, that can also be a red flag. Fraudsters will use an AI tool to recreate the person’s voice but because this voice would not match the person’s mouth, they instead just put shots over the voice to cover up the fakeness.
- Be wary of language
- While Pope Leo does speak fluent English, when he does speak publicly, only a portion of his address may sometimes be in English. Most papal speeches are delivered in Italian.
- Overly political or sensational statements are red flags.
- Trust your instincts
- If a quote/photo feels too shocking, too political, or the timing of a social media post in your feed seems too convenient, the “news” may not be true.
The bottom line
If you don’t see it on Vatican News, the pope’s official social media accounts, or a trusted Catholic outlet, don’t share anything on your social media until you verify it and be skeptical of any post you see that doesn’t come from a reputable outlet.
Reputable national Catholic news outlets
- EWTN News
- Catholic News Agency (CNA)
- National Catholic Register
- Pillar Catholic
- Vatican News
- Our Sunday Visitor
- Crux
- L’Osservatore Romano is the daily newspaper of Vatican City. It includes news, papal texts, and messages from the Holy Father.
The National Catholic Reporter is an outlet that comes with big question marks. In fact, in 1968, Bishop Charles Helmsing of Kansas City–St. Joseph (where the paper was founded and is based) publicly condemned the National Catholic Reporter for its dissent from Church teaching, stating that it had “no legitimate claim on the name Catholic” because of its rejection of the magisterium’s authority. In 2013, Kansas City-St. Joseph’s Bishop Robert Finn echoed Bishop Helmsing’s concerns, writing that the National Catholic Reporter “undermines Church teachings and lionizes dissident theologies.” That condemnation has never been lifted.
For faithful, well-researched answers about Catholic teachings, visit Catholic.com (Catholic Answers).