Vatican warns about fake pope quotes, videos May 22, 2025By Catholic News Service Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, social media, Vatican, World News VATICAN CITY (CNS) — All the speeches and messages Pope Leo XIV has given since becoming pope May 8 are available on the Vatican website, which should be checked before sharing supposed quotes and videos, Vatican News said. The Vatican News site published the warning in several languages May 21 after a 36-minute “deep fake” — AI-generated — video was posted on YouTube. The post, which used manipulated video of Pope Leo and an AI-generated voice with an accent that is not Pope Leo’s, praises Ibrahim Traoré, the military ruler of Burkina Faso. Vatican News said the post was “produced using footage from Pope Leo XIV’s audience with journalists on Monday, May 12. A ‘morphing’ technique was used — that is, transforming the image so that the movement of the lips matches the AI-generated words.” The video is only the latest example of social media fakes attributed to the new pope. A popular meme circulating on Facebook, Instagram and other social media features a photo of Pope Leo from May 8 and the fake quote: “You cannot follow both Christ and the cruelty of kings. A leader who mocks the weak, exalts himself, and preys on the innocent is not sent by God. He is sent to test you. And many are failing.” According to snopes.com, the fact-checking website, the earliest posting of the supposed quote was May 14, but there is no evidence anywhere that the pope said it. The Vatican website — www.vatican.va — offers papal texts, including the texts of video messages, in multiple languages, often including Italian, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Polish, Arabic, Chinese and Latin. Read More Vatican News Pope Leo to youth: Jesus doesn’t want you to be couch potatoes Pope prays for victims of deadly wildfires in Spain, France Pope Leo appeals for dialogue, diplomacy, prayers for just peace in Holy Land, Middle East Andrea Bocelli to sing for Pope Leo with international children’s choir Journalists launch initiative to bring letters from Venezuelan quake survivors to Pope Leo XIV Young American missionaries get papal shoutout during summer in Rome Copyright © 2025 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Print
