Fake account poses as new pope, fools thousands
ALBAWABA - Platform administrators stepped in after a phony social media account purporting to be the new leader of the Catholic Church deceived thousands of users only days after Robert Francis Prevost was elected Pope Leo XIV.
Using the name "Robert Francis Prevost," the imposter account was set up on the platform "X" (previously Twitter) and sent messages expressing gratitude to the faithful and expressing feelings over the papal election. Because many people thought they were interacting with the actual Pope, these postings went viral.
AFP fact-checkers and An-Nahar, however, verified that the account was bogus. There were further questions since the account had previously gone by another name (@HanKangOffic). X quickly deleted the account for breaking its rules and made it clear that it was not associated with the Vatican.
The freshly chosen pope is identified as a Catholic bishop affiliated with the Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru by his authentic, verified account, which goes by the pseudonym @drprevost. Whether Pope Leo XIV oversees the account directly or via an assistant is still unknown.
Shortly after Prevost, a 69-year-old American cardinal, was chosen as the first American pope in Vatican history on May 8, 2025, the fabricated narrative gained popularity. He replaced the late Pope Francis, who died in April, and adopted the papal name Leo XIV.
Chicago-born Prevost has decades of experience in church leadership positions in the United States and Peru, and he has a Ph.D. in Canon Law. He was the former bishop of Chiclayo and head of the Augustinian order.
The viral hoax underscores rising worries about AI-generated material and impersonation on social media platforms, particularly involving prominent religious authorities, although the Vatican has not released an official comment about the event.
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