AI-Generated Image of Pope Francis With a Dog Goes Viral as Real

This is an AI-generated image and not a real photograph.

An image showing late Pope Francis crying while hugging a dog is going viral on social media where users are claiming that it shows "the last image" of them together

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: This is an AI-generated image and a not a real one.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a reverse image search on the viral image but it did not bring up any credible news report carrying this image.

• We then ran the image on AI-detection tools like Hive Moderation and Sight Engine.

• Both of the tools concluded that this image is generated using AI and is not real.

• Hive Moderation concluded that this image is 95.2 percent AI-generated while Sight Engine returned with 99 percent.

Conclusion: An AI-generated image of Pope Francis crying while hugging a dog is going viral as a 'last photo' of them together.

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