AI image of Pope Francis in open casket misleads online

As tributes poured in from around the globe for Pope Francis, who died April 21, 2025, an AI-generated image of the Catholic leader in an open coffin surfaced online. Some social media users appeared to believe the visual was genuine, but it substantially differs from official pictures the Vatican released.

The image, overlaid with Malayalam-language text bidding the pope farewell, surfaced on Facebook the same day the pontiff, 88, died from a stroke less than a month after returning home from five weeks in hospital battling double pneumonia (archived link).

It appears to show Francis in a white garment holding a large crucifix.

The post, which also includes #PopeFrancis and #RIP, accumulated thousands of engagements.


This photo taken April 21, 2025 and handed out April 22, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis in his open coffin in the Vatican. HandoutVATICAN MEDIA

The pope's funeral, which is expected to draw huge crowds, will take place April 26 in the square in front of St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.

Francis's coffin -- which he previously ordered should be of wood and zinc -- will then be taken inside the church and from there to the Rome basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial. He will become the first pope in more than 100 years to be laid to rest outside the Vatican.

The image spread in several countries, including the Philippines, Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka. Several comments indicate users believe the image is genuine.

"His face looks so peaceful," one user wrote.

Another commented: "It's almost as if he were just sleeping."

The pope's body was photographed during an April 21 evening service in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican residence where he lived during his 12-year papacy.

However, Francis was wearing his red papal vestments, a mitre on his head and had a rosary between his fingers -- contrary to the visuals shared online.

Media forensic experts also told AFP the circulating image bears signs of AI.

Shu Hu, director of Purdue University's Machine Learning and Media Forensics Lab, analysed the image and found several visual inconsistencies (archived link).

"Their faces appear ambiguous and poorly defined. Pope Francis's fingers appear disproportionately long," he said.

Hany Farid, co-founder of GetReal Labs, a cybersecurity company focused on combating malicious artificial intelligence threats, also detected signs it was made with generative AI (archived link).

"I believe the image was generated using Meta AI. You'll notice the Meta watermark hidden under the pink watermark," Farid told AFP.

AFP previously fact-checked another false post targeting the pope when he was ill.