Leo XIV Launches Official Feed to Stem AI-Generated Fake News

VATICAN.— Faced with the proliferation of misleading content attributed to the sovereign pontiff on social media, Pope Leo XIV has called on all Catholic organizations to integrate a direct feed of official Vatican news onto their websites. This initiative is presented as a strategic response to the rise of fake news generated by artificial intelligence. According to Vatican News, the official media outlet of the Holy See behind the initiative, the Pope addressed a letter to bishops worldwide, encouraging them to adopt this digital tool on the platforms of parishes, dioceses, and Church-related associations. An evangelization tool at the source of information Specifically, integrating a widget developed by Vatican News will allow for the real-time dissemination of official papal videos, speeches, homilies, announcements, and various texts emanating from Vatican bodies. The feed will be accessible in 40 languages, significantly expanding its international reach. In his correspondence, Leo XIV describes this initiative as an evangelization tool and a means for your parishes and communities to constantly obtain information from the source. A way, he believes, to guarantee the authenticity of pontifical messages in a digital environment increasingly saturated with manipulated content. AI at the heart of manipulations This decision comes as an AFP investigation has highlighted the existence of dozens of pages on YouTube and TikTok disseminating videos and recordings generated by artificial intelligence, falsely attributed to the Pope. On TikTok, in particular, a video in Spanish claiming to show the pontiff preaching on « the value of women's adoration » accumulated 9.6 million views. Another sequence, although accompanied by a mention regarding the use of AI but deemed misleading, was viewed nearly 32.9 million times. These figures illustrate the scale of the phenomenon and the risks of disinformation faced by the Holy See. By focusing on the centralization and direct dissemination of certified content, the Vatican thus intends to regain control of its digital communication and preserve the integrity of the pontifical word in the age of artificial intelligence. Jean Mapou / Le Relief