Would Pope Francis deviate from the rules imposed by the church? According to posts seen on TikTok, the pontiff recently got married in the Vatican. At the turn of a montage, several photographs show him on the arm of a brunette woman in a wedding dress and large veil with the false air of Kate Middleton.

According to another post dated in early April, this time on Facebook, it would be "Sister Eyenga". "There is an immense joy that animates the spirit of the man of God," the publication said. But other netizens wonder: does he really have the right to marry?



In reality, the rules have not changed within the church and it seems above all that the pope has once again been a victim of artificial intelligence (AI).

FAKE OFF

After the pope in a big white jacket, here is the pope on the arm of a bride, who would be his wife, "Sister Eyenga". Based on a reverse image search, we can trace the origin of the images that were originally posted on the Reddit forum two months ago. "Pope gets married," read the headline.

At the risk of disappointing you, these images are the work of Midjourney, an artificial intelligence (AI) capable of transforming texts into images. It is on this platform that many false images have been produced, such as that of Emmanuel Macron on garbage cans during the garbage collectors' strike a few weeks earlier, or the images of the false arrest of Donald Trump.

The Pope's 1,000 Lives

Pope Francis is also a recurring target. On forums and social networks, fake images of the pontiff have been shared many times, including the one in a large white quilted down jacket. Unmissable on the web a few weeks ago, it is not the only one to have staged the pontiff.

On Reddit, for example, we can find him at Oktoberfest, a famous festival in Munich, Germany. It is also possible to see him practicing snowboarding, or baseball. All these images are obviously false.


Different brides

As for the various AI-generated images showing Pope Francis' wedding, we can see that some details do not stick. Between the different photos, the features of the bride appear differently. "These are technically different women that Midjourney created – I just chose the ones that looked the most similar," the user explains in the comments.

Also, in some photos, the bride is wearing an engagement ring. But this one disappears on the other images. The bride's dress also changes. In lace on the first photos, it will be composed of pearls on the last.

Bad context

Moreover, the dates of the alleged marriage do not coincide with the pope's calendar. The images appeared in early April a few days after the pontiff was hospitalized for a respiratory infection.

Contrary to the doubts expressed by Internet users, priestly celibacy remains a rule in the Catholic Church.

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