AI-generated Pope sermons flood YouTube, TikTok

AFP | Paris

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AI-generated videos and audios of Pope Leo XIV are populating rapidly online, racking up views as platforms struggle to police them.

An AFP investigation identified dozens of YouTube and TikTok pages that have been churning out AI-generated messages delivered in the pope’s voice or otherwise attributed to him since he took charge of the Catholic Church last month.

The hundreds of fabricated sermons and speeches, in English and Spanish, underscore how easily hoaxes created using artificial intelligence can elude detection and dupe viewers.

“There’s natural interest in what the new pope has to say, and people don’t yet know his stance and style,” said University of Washington professor emeritus Oren Etzioni, founder of TrueMedia.org, a nonprofit focused on fighting deepfakes.

“A perfect opportunity to sow mischief with AI-generated misinformation.”

After presenting YouTube with 26 channels posting predominantly AI-generated pope content, the platform terminated 16 of them for violating its policies against spam, deceptive practices and scams, and another for violating YouTube’s terms of service.

The company also booted an additional six pages from its partner program allowing creators to monetize their content.

TikTok similarly removed 11 accounts that were pointed out -- with over 1.3 million combined followers -- citing the platform’s policies against impersonation, harmful misinformation and misleading AI-generated content of public figures.

With names such as “Pope Leo XIV Vision,” the social media pages portrayed the pontiff supposedly offering a flurry of warnings and lessons he never preached.