AI generated Videos Of Pope Leo Flooded YouTube & TikTok: Viral Videos Fool Millions

New Delhi: Hundreds of fabricated videos of sermons by newly elected Pope Leo XIV have gone viral on social media platforms. These deep fakes contain speeches and claims that the Pope never made, sparking confusion among religious communities.

The AI generated videos were so believable that many users mistook them for actual papal communication, and they have garnered millions of views online. The videos leverage AI tools capable of mimicking Pope Leo’s voice and gestures with uncanny accuracy.

AI Clips Go Viral

Some clips showed the pope addressing controversial topics and making statements which contrast with the Vatican’s official position, which has fueled debate online.

The accounts posting the AI generated messages delivered in the pope's voice or otherwise attributed to him have been identified and reported to the platforms, and most of these accounts have been banned.

With names such as ‘Pope Leo XIV Vision’ and ‘Pope Leo XIV Sermons’, these channels churn out content warning Catholics and spreading false teachings. Videos warned christians of nonexistent threats and preached incorrect teachings. Some videos were titled “A BIG WARNING FOR ALL CHRISTIANS”, ‘POPE’S WARNING, YOU MUST BE CAREFUL", and “WAKE UP CHRISTIANS: FAMILIES ARE UNDER SPIRITUAL ATTACK”. 

Oren Etzioni, founder of TrueMedia.org ,a nonprofit focused on fighting deep fakes, said "There's natural interest in what the new pope has to say, and people don't yet know his stance and style,”.

The manipulated sermons and speeches going viral highlight how easily hoaxes created using AI can escape detection.

Repeated AI Attacks On Pope

However, this isn't the first time that Pope Leo XIV was targeted using AI.

This issue comes to light after another deep fake video of the Pope went viral last month. In this video, a manipulated video of Pope Leo praises Ibrahim Traore, the military leader of Burkina Faso.

Viral posts on social media shared a video of the Pope reading a speech in response to a letter from Ibrahim Traore, but the claim is false as the original video was of the Pope’s first official press conference and the message was morphed over it. Following this, the Vatican News Website issued a warning to the public that the video was fake and that all speeches delivered by the Pope are available on the Vatican Website.

Another time, altered clips of the Pope went viral in which he can be heard criticizing US Vice President JD Vance, but this clip was also debunked.

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