Fake claims about Pope Francis went viral while he was still in hospital

euronews (in English)

Fake claims about Pope Francis went viral while he was still in hospital  EuroVerify takes a look at online disinformation which emerged during the late Pope Francis' time in hospital.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/04/23/fake-claims-about-pope-francis-went-viral-while-he-was-still-in-hospital  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

Transcript

00:00What fake claims were shared while Pope Francis was in hospital?

00:08On Easter Monday, news of the passing of Pope Francis shocked the world.

00:13He headed the Roman Catholic Church for 12 years.

00:16The late Pontus body has been transferred from his residence at the Vatican

00:20to lion's stay at St. Peter's Basilica until his funeral Saturday.

00:24But being a Pope in the 21st century means facing a continual torrent of online disinformation.

00:30You may remember this AI-generated image of Pope Francis donning a long white puffer jacket.

00:35When it went viral in 2023, many fell for it.

00:39Over the years, Pope Francis spoke out about the dangers of fake news

00:42and urged the press to report factually.

00:44But from the moment Pope Francis was hospitalized on 14th February,

00:48online users began to share fake claims that he was already dead,

00:52alleging a cover-up mission.

00:53A month later, others discredited a photo released by the Vatican

01:06showing Pope Francis sitting in the chapel of the Roman hospital where he was being treated.

01:11Meanwhile, AI-generated images of Pope Francis in his hospital bed gained traction.

01:16According to research firm Syabra in early March,

01:1931% of profiles on Next which discussed Pope Francis' health

01:23were inauthentic and spreading false claims.

01:26Now that the Pope's death certificate has been released by the Vatican,

01:30stating he died in his apartment on Monday 21st of April,

01:33these conspiracy theories can be put to rest once and for all.

01:37Following Pope Francis' death,

01:39Irish-American Archbishop Kevin Farrell

01:41is now the acting head of the Vatican

01:43until the next Pope is elected.

Category

Transcript

Recommended