You’ve seen it. We all have. A crisp, high-definition photo of the pope wearing a massive, Balenciaga-style white puffer jacket, looking like he’s about to drop the hottest Christian rap album of the decade. It was everywhere. Twitter, Reddit, your aunt’s Facebook feed—it didn't matter where you looked in early 2023, Pope Francis was suddenly a fashion icon.
But it wasn't real.
The image was generated by Midjourney, an AI tool that, at the time, was just hitting its stride. This wasn't just a funny meme; it was a watershed moment for digital literacy. It proved that even the most skeptical among us can be tricked by a single, well-rendered image. When we talk about a photo of the pope today, we aren't usually talking about his actual appearances at the Vatican; we’re talking about the "The Pope Drip" and the terrifyingly fast evolution of synthetic media.
The Moment the Internet Broke
The puffer jacket image was created by Pablo Xavier, a construction worker from Chicago who was just "messing around" while tripping on mushrooms. He didn't have a political agenda. He just thought it would be funny to see the Pontiff in something trendy. He posted it to a subreddit called r/midjourney and a Facebook group called "AI Art Universe."
Within hours, it was gone. Viral.
People didn't check the source. They didn't look at the hands—which, if you look closely at that specific photo of the pope, are a chaotic mess of blurred skin and missing fingernails. They just saw the vibe. It looked like a real paparazzi shot. The lighting was perfect. The texture of the nylon jacket looked like you could reach out and touch it. It felt authentic because it placed a familiar figure in a surprising but physically plausible context.
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This is the "uncanny valley" in reverse. Usually, AI looks too weird to be real. Here, it looked just real enough to be true.
Why We Fell For It (And Why We Still Do)
Honestly, it’s about context. We expect the Pope to be in white. The puffer jacket was white. We expect him to be outside. He was outside.
Our brains use heuristics—mental shortcuts—to process information quickly. When you see a photo of the pope, your brain checks two boxes: "Is that his face?" and "Is he wearing white?" If both are "yes," you move on to the next thought. You don't sit there and count the number of buttons on the jacket or look at how the shadow of his glasses falls on his cheek.
Well, maybe you should.
Ever since that image, the world has seen an explosion of AI-generated figures. We've seen "photos" of Donald Trump being arrested and Elon Musk holding hands with Mary Barra. But the photo of the pope remains the gold standard for "the big lie" because it was harmless. It wasn't a deepfake of a declaration of war. It was just a guy in a coat. That lack of perceived "danger" is exactly why it bypassed our internal filters.
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Real vs. Fake: How to Tell the Difference
The technology has gotten better since 2023. Midjourney v6 and DALL-E 3 are significantly more sophisticated. They can do hands now. They can do text. They can even replicate the specific grain of a 35mm film camera.
If you're looking at a photo of the pope and you aren't sure if it's legitimate, you have to look for the "mathematical" errors. AI doesn't understand physics; it understands pixels.
- Check the Accessories: Look at the pectoral cross. In the viral puffer jacket photo, the cross is partially merged with the zipper. Metals and jewelry are notoriously difficult for AI to render because they reflect light in ways that require a deep understanding of 3-D space.
- The "Waxy" Skin: Even with high-res prompts, AI skin often looks too perfect. There’s a lack of pores, or the wrinkles look like they were drawn on with a stylus rather than being part of the skin’s actual anatomy.
- Background Noise: Look at the people in the background. In many AI images, the background characters have distorted faces or limbs that disappear into the pavement.
- The Source: This is the big one. If a photo of the pope is doing something wild—riding a skateboard, wearing Nike sneakers, or sitting in a dive bar—and it isn't on the official Vatican Media website or a reputable news agency like Reuters or AP, it's fake. Period.
The Vatican has its own photographic service, L'Osservatore Romano. They document every public move the Pope makes. If they didn't catch it, it didn't happen.
The Ethical Quagmire of the "Cool Pope"
There is a weird side effect to all this. By creating a "cool" photo of the pope, AI artists are inadvertently participating in a form of brand management. Pope Francis is already known for being more "down to earth" than his predecessors. The AI images lean into this, making him a symbol of pop culture.
But it’s also a form of identity theft.
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The Pope is a sovereign leader and a religious figurehead for over a billion people. When a fake photo of the pope goes viral, it strips away his agency. He becomes a puppet for whatever prompt a user types into a Discord server. This has led the Vatican to speak out. In early 2024, Pope Francis himself released a message for the World Day of Social Communications, specifically warning about the "perils of AI" and the "deeply distorting" nature of fake news and synthetic media.
It’s a bit ironic. The man who became the face of AI’s potential is now the leading voice calling for its regulation.
What Happens Next?
We are entering an era where "seeing is believing" is a dead concept. We have to move toward a "verify, then trust" model.
The photo of the pope in the puffer jacket was the warning shot. It showed us that we aren't as smart as we think we are. We are susceptible to aesthetics. We like things that look "clean."
If you want to stay ahead of the curve, you need to start treating every viral image as a guilty-until-proven-innocent piece of data. Use reverse image searches. Use Google Lens. Check the metadata if you can.
Actionable Steps for Digital Verification
- Right-click and Search: If an image looks too "perfect" or out of character, use Google Reverse Image Search. If the only results are Twitter threads and "funny" blogs, it’s a fake.
- Look for the Artifacts: Zoom in on the ears, the glasses, and the hands. AI still struggles with where one object ends and another begins.
- Check Official Channels: For any public figure, especially one as high-profile as the Pope, check official press releases.
- Install Verification Tools: Browsers now have extensions like "InVID" or "RevEye" that help you trace the origin of a file.
The next time a photo of the pope pops up in your feed and he’s doing something "rad," take a second. Look at the zipper. Look at the fingers. Don't let your brain take the shortcut. The technology is moving fast, but our skepticism needs to move faster.