Wave of content purporting to show Pope Francis in hospital is AI-generated
Content was created using a range of AI tools, including Grok
CLAIM
Several videos and images emerged on social media purporting to show Pope Francis in an Italian hospital as he battles a serious illness.
BACKGROUND
The Vatican announced on February 23 that the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, remains in critical condition at a hospital in Rome.
The 88-year-old was admitted to Gemelli Hospital on February 14 and was later diagnosed with a respiratory tract infection and pneumonia in both lungs.
“The condition of the Holy Father remains critical; however, since last night, he has not experienced further respiratory crises,” the Vatican said on Sunday.
The statement said the pope was receiving “high-flow oxygen therapy” through a nasal cannula, but continued to remain “vigilant and well-orientated”.
As well-wishers worldwide prayed for the pontiff’s recovery, several videos and images emerged on social media, purporting to show Francis inside his hospital room.
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A video shared on a TikTok account with the caption “Rezemos pelo Papa Francisco” (Let us pray for Pope Francis) showed several nuns and Jesus Christ praying over and touching the pontiff in a hospital bed.
The same video was also shared to a YouTube account titled “Pope Francis I/Papa Francesco”.
Over the weekend, a Turkey-based X account shared several images (here and here) that claimed to show Pope Francis in the hospital.
“Vatikan, Papa Francis’in ‘hafif’ böbrek yetmezliği yaşadığını ve durumunun kritik olduğunu duyurdu”, (The Vatican announced that Pope Francis has “mild” kidney failure and is in critical condition) a caption accompanying the post read.
February 23 saw an image emerge purporting to show the Pope standing in front of James Hetfield, lead singer of the metal band Metallica, as he sang into a microphone. “If Pope Francis were to pass, it would be fitting for the bells to toll like the powerful intro to For Whom the Bell Tolls by Metallica—solemn, reverent, and unforgettable. 🔔🙏 #ForWhomTheBellTolls #Metallica #InMemoriam #Pope #PopeFrancis,” the poster wrote.
On February 24, an X account shared an image purporting to show Pop Francis in a hospital bed wearing a respirator mask. The image’s caption reads: “I never mock anyone’s health condition. But, why aren’t the 2 famous Pastors from Punjab who cure anything and everything , from Polio to Cancer and AIDS , are not called by Vatican to treat the #Pope !!??”
The image of Pope Francis wearing the mask also emerged in a video shared to YouTube on Monday, where nuns and a statue of the Virgin Mary can be seen praying over him. “Please Prayer for Pope Francis for good health,” the publisher titled the video.
METHOD
Analyzing the video originally shared to TikTok under the title “Rezemos pelo Papa Francisco”, we see several indicators that the content is AI-generated. Firstly, the footage is highly saturated, and the movements of the people within the footage are stuttering.
The figure purported to be Pope Francis, also changes in appearance throughout the video, with file footage showing that the person in the video does not resemble the Pope.
Finally, the video contains footage of Jesus Christ embracing the Pope at his hospital bed, while the final image shows an angle sprouting wings and embracing the Pope.
The account acknowledges that it uses AI to create church-related material and offers tutorials on how to do so in its bio.
From the analysis, we can conclude that the footage is AI-generated.
Analysing the images shared by accounts here, here and here, revealed that all images contain the Grok X1 logo, indicating the images were created using the generation tool.
The Vatican has released no such pictures of the Pope in his hospital bed.
Regarding the image purporting to show James Hetfield singing in front of the pope, no such event appears on Vatican records or news archives.
From this, we can conclude that the images are AI-generated.
RATING
From the videos and images analysis, we can conclude that content was created using a range of AI tools, including the Grok generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by xAI.
SOURCES
Tiktok.com. (2025). TikTok – Available at: Rezemos pelo Papa Francisco [Accessed 24 Feb. 2025].
Youtube.com. (2025). Available at: Pope Francis I/Papa Francesco [Accessed 24 Feb. 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: Vatikan, Papa Francis’in ‘hafif’ böbrek yetmezliği yaşadığını ve durumunun kritik olduğunu duyurdu. [Accessed 24 Feb. 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: Papa Francis’in kan nakli geçirdiği ve “dünden daha fazla acı çektiği bildirildi. [Accessed 24 Feb. 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: I never mock the health condition of anyone. [Accessed 24 Feb. 2025].
Youtube.com. (2025). Available at: Please Prayer for Pope Francis for good health [Accessed 24 Feb. 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: If Pope Francis were to pass, it would be fitting for the bells to toll like the powerful intro to For Whom the Bell Tolls by Metallica [Accessed 24 Feb. 2025].
Youtube.com. (2025). Available at: El papa Francisco enfermo de gravedad [Accessed 24 Feb. 2025].