On Easter Monday, news came to mind that Pope Francis, who headed the Roman Catholic Church for 12 years, died after an illness.
Working as a pope in the 21st century meant that during his reign the late Pope faced a constant torrent of online disinformation. When his Ai-generated image of him wearing a long white puff jacket became word of mouth in 2023, many people fell into it. In response, he urged the press to effectively report it, warning of the dangers of fake news.
Nevertheless, from the moment Francis was hospitalized on February 14th, online users began sharing fake claims that he was already dead.
“All right! You deny Pope Francis is dead!” In a video posted on March 14th, Italy’s Tiktoker Ottavorediroma 2.0 stated in a video that earned 200k views.
Users of X, Facebook and other social media platforms also relayed these allegations. Research firm Cyabra estimates that 31% of X’s profiles that discussed the Pope’s health over a week in early March are in fact fake.
When a photo of Francis sitting in the chapel of the Roman hospital where he was treated, was published in mid-March, it was also dismissed as fake by online conspiracy theorists.
In the video posted on March 16th with around 300,000 views, another Italian tiktalker, Erbombolino1.1 fofficial, replied.
Another trend that emerged during Francis’ hospital days was to share images generated by fake AI showing him in his hospital bed.
However, the 1996 Apostle Constitution, promulgated by Pope John Paul II, prohibits his deathbed or photographs of the Pope after his death unless a specific permission is granted.
The Pope’s death certificate has now been released by the Vatican, and he said he died in his apartment on Monday, April 21st. His body is open to mourners’ respect.
