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A YouTube video falsely portraying Pope Leo XIV delivering a message to Burkina Faso’s president has added to a growing trend of AI-generated deepfakes targeting the new pontiff.
The 36-minute video, created with English narration and manipulated visuals, falsely suggests that the Holy Father addressed the West African leader in a detailed speech praising his leadership and lamenting the “exploitation” of the West African country, Vatican News reported.
The video, titled “Pope Leo XIV responds to Captain Ibrahim Traoré – A Message of Truth, Justice & Reconciliation,” appears on the YouTube account “Pan African Dreams.” Through digital “morphing,” the footage from the Pope’s actual May 12 audience with journalists is altered so that his lips move in sync with AI-generated dialogue.
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In the video, Pope Leo is falsely made to say: “I have read your words not once, but many times … because in your voice I have heard not only the anger of a president, but the righteous cry of a continent long wounded by the twin blades of abandonment and exploitation.”
The video opens with an elaborate and fabricated greeting: “To His Excellency President Ibrahim Traoré, President of the Sovereign Nation of Burkina Faso, son of African soil, defender of his people, may grace and peace multiply for you through wisdom, courage and truth.”
This forgery is the latest in a concerning trend of AI-generated misinformation.
In addition to “Pan African Dreams,” another YouTube channel, titled “Pope Leo XIV Sermons,” has been uploading dozens of similarly fabricated videos. These AI-generated sermons, some with tens of thousands of views, present entirely fictitious messages, misleading viewers into believing they are witnessing authentic papal speeches.
Vatican News reiterated that any official statements or addresses by the Holy Father are accessible via the Vatican’s official platforms, including www.vatican.va and www.vaticannews.va.
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