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

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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

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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.

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