--- title: "That Viral Image of the Swagged Out Pope Is an AI Fake, Dummies" description: "To the shock of absolutely no one, it turns out that those images of Pope Francis looking fresh to death in a pristine white puffer are AI-generated fakes. " date: "2023-03-27" modified: "2023-03-27" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/pope-drip-ai-fakes" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "fake images" - "midjourney" - "pope" - "the digest" --- # That Viral Image of the Swagged Out Pope Is an AI Fake, Dummies ![To the shock of absolutely no one, it turns out that those images of Pope Francis looking fresh to death in a pristine white puffer are AI-generated fakes. ]() *\Image: Midjourney / Futurism\* ## Drip God Did they fool you? Those mega-viral images of Pope Francis looking fresh to death in a pristine white puffer are AI-generated fakes. As [*Snopes* reports](), that pic of Il Papa that went viral over the weekend is, as [lots]() of [people]() [suspected](), a fake — and, as always, the debunking site has the receipts to prove it. Though it is *quite* a good fake, the first time the image was posted online appears to have been on the r/Midjourney subreddit on Friday, March 24 under the befitting headline, "[The Pope Drip]()." https://twitter.com/singareddynm/status/1639655045875507201 Midjourney is, as many armchair AI heads will know, a powerful AI generator that can spit out photorealistic images of, among tons of other things, real people that are [almost good enough to be believed](). Indeed, Midjourney was the program behind [AI-concocted images of Donald Trump]() getting arrested by the NYPD, which went moderately viral amongst both his fans and his foes — though most seemed [in on the joke](). ## TrAInspotting Not so with the dripped-out Pope. Though there were minute tells that folks on the lookout can [use to detect AI fakes]() — a digital paintbrush-is-ness visible on the faces, the backgrounds are fuzzy, and the hands still don't look perfect — many were taken in by the Swag Pope. ![]() As with the fake Trump arrest photos, the virality of these AI-generated images is concerning — especially considering how quickly these neural networks are improving. Ironically enough, the [real Pope spoke about ethical uses of AI]() soon after the fake drip images went viral, though it doesn't appear that he commented specifically about the phony images of him circulating online. For now, eagle-eyed netizens are still able to detect real and what's generated by AI — but who knows how long that will last? **More on AI:** [*FTC Warns That Scammers Are Cloning Your Relatives' Voice To Steal Your Money*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()