Fact Checkers Debunk Fictional Pope Leo XIV Livestream Claim

False social media claims about a non-existent “Pope Leo XIV” conducting an emergency livestream to discuss political threats have been circulating widely online, according to fact-checkers.

The fabricated story, which began spreading in March 2026, alleged that the pope had started an impromptu 3 a.m. livestream to inform followers about receiving threatening messages from “a powerful political figure.” Though the posts didn’t explicitly name the politician, many included images of former U.S. President Donald Trump, clearly implying he was the figure in question.

“POPE LEO XIV GOES LIVE AT 3 A.M. WITH AN URGENT MESSAGE ‘Tonight I received a message — and it was sent to silence me,'” read one widely-shared Facebook post from March 22.

The claim gained enough traction that multiple readers contacted fact-checking organizations to verify its authenticity. However, a thorough investigation found no credible news sources reporting such an event, which would have generated significant coverage from established media outlets had it actually occurred.

Most telling is the fundamental factual error at the claim’s center: there is currently no “Pope Leo XIV” leading the Catholic Church. The last pontiff named Leo was Pope Leo XIII, who died in 1903.

The fabricated story appears to be part of a growing trend of AI-generated misinformation designed to generate engagement and drive traffic to ad-revenue generating websites. Fact-checkers identified nearly identical language used in previously debunked claims targeting other public figures, including late-night TV host Stephen Colbert and U.S. figure skater Ilia Malinin.

When analyzing the content spreading these false claims, investigators found multiple red flags common to AI-generated misinformation campaigns. The text from associated blog posts registered as 100% AI-generated when analyzed using detection tools, while the social media captions scored 76% likelihood of AI creation.

“These types of AI-detection tools are fallible,” caution fact-checkers. “People should avoid using them for definitive answers on media’s authenticity without supporting evidence.”

Website operators associated with the false claims employed several tactics to evade detection, including disabling text selection on their sites to prevent easy fact-checking and substituting Latin alphabet characters with similar-looking Cyrillic and Greek letters to bypass content moderation systems.

The Facebook page “Guided By Grace” appears to be among the earliest promoters of the Pope Leo XIV claim. Fact-checkers have attempted to contact the page’s administrators regarding the lack of disclaimers about the content’s fictional nature but have not yet received a response.

This incident is not isolated. According to Lead Stories, a fact-checking organization, by December 2025 there were “countless identical claims targeting 30 different individuals” using nearly identical language about emergency 3 a.m. livestreams or messages.

The Pope Leo XIV fabrication also connects to several other recently debunked claims about supposed conflicts between the fictional pontiff and former President Trump regarding U.S.-Israeli military actions against Iran.

Media literacy experts warn that such content creators capitalize on social media users’ willingness to believe and share dramatic stories about public figures. The business model depends on generating enough engagement to drive traffic to external websites loaded with advertisements.

Social media users are advised to verify extraordinary claims through established news sources before sharing and to be particularly wary of dramatic stories featuring public figures that aren’t reported by mainstream news organizations.