On Thursday, the Indian archdiocese informed the public that reports of its archbishop's death were fictitious. "We can confirm that His Eminence is very much alive and well and faithfully discharging his duties as Shepherd of his flock in the Archdiocese of Bombay," the statement said.

According to the archdiocese, many false messages are circulating on messaging platforms declaring the cardinal dead. "The spread of false information, whether intentionally or accidentally, can cause unnecessary fear and confusion. We therefore ask you to check the facts before passing on a message," warns the archdiocese and calls for correct and responsible communication.

Read More

In a weekly bulletin against disinformation, the Directorate refuted the claims about a $38 billion deal with the Vatican for Hagia Sophia, stressing that such a thing was "impossible."

"Do not heed baseless news that Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque was sold, or its restoration will last 50 years, during which it will be closed," the bulletin read.

Turkish authorities recently began a long-term restoration for the centuries-old Hagia Sophia, which was converted back into a mosque from a museum in a 2020 court ruling.

Read More

Warsaw's network suffers from a blind spot - an inability to transcend conservative American Catholicism's myopic views. "Fake news" cannot be associated with only one side of culture wars - it's a form of fake news in itself.

A culturally conditioned understanding of what counts as "true" is always in flux. People ignore the best scientific evidence about climate change if they are invested in fossil fuels. Still, they certainly want scientific advances in treating heart disease if they fall ill. Read more

In reality, though, the head of the Catholic Church never wore that designer, Balenciaga-like jacket: The image was nothing more than a hyper-realistic A.I. generation.

Behind this work of forgery was Pablo Xavier, a construction worker in Chicago who asked media not to use his last name for fear of backlash, reports Chris Stokel-Walker for Buzzfeed News.

"I just thought it was funny to see the Pope in a funny jacket," Xavier tells the publication.

(The story and Xavier's interview were published before Pope Francis was hospitalized with a respiratory infection and will likely spend a few days there, though he does not have Covid-19. Since this announcement, his condition has been improving.)

Xavier's four pictures of a "dripped-out" pope were created using the popular A.I. tool Midjourney, which generates images based on text prompts.

However, like lots of computer-produced artwork, the photos of the pope are not perfect.

His smeared hand, misshapen glasses, and blurry cross necklace are all telltale signs of A.I. interference.

Nevertheless, the depictions tricked people, including model Chrissy Teigen.

"I thought the pope's puffer jacket was real and didn't give it a second thought. no way am I surviving the future of technology," tweeted Teigen on Friday.

While the pope wearing a perfectly tailored, arctic white puffer could command a laugh out of even the most stoic internet users, the portrayal of public figures in realistic, A.I.-generated art has real-world implications.

Though he created the images for fun, Xavier tells Buzzfeed he had instant regrets once they went viral. He saw posts criticizing the Catholic Church for unnecessary spending, citing his A.I. creations as evidence.

Beyond the images of the pope-looking fly, Midjourney-generated content has tricked the internet on other occasions.

The same program is responsible for recently circulated phony photographs of Donald Trump getting arrested and Queen Elizabeth doing her own laundry.

While many were quick to debunk the Trump arrest photos due to their political implications, some never questioned the image of the pope and just kept scrolling.

"If Trump has been publicly arrested, I'm asking myself, why am I seeing this image, but Twitter's trending topics, tweets and the national newspapers and networks are not reflecting that?"

Mike Caulfield, a researcher at the University of Washington's Center for an Informed Public, tells the Atlantic's Charlie Warzel.

"But for the pope, your only available heuristic is would the pope wear a cool coat? Since almost all of us don't have any expertise there, we fall back on the style heuristic, and the answer we come up with is: maybe."

Creating fake images is not the only problem that users are having with A.I. programs.

For one, the models also have coded biases.

When prompted with words like "CEO" or "director", image generator DALL-E 2 churns out pictures of white men 97 percent of the time. Continue reading

The image's creator has shared the story of how he generated the photograph that fooled the world. Read more

According to Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, who advises the pope within the Council of Cardinals, news reports suggesting Pope Francis' physical decline will soon lead to a new conclave are "fake news".

The rumours are being perpetrated by outlets located primarily in the United States where Francis faces "strong opposition".

The pope has never thought about resigning, Maradiaga says.

Numerous articles published recently in major news outlets have attempted to draw conclusions from a conflagration of scheduled events in August.

These include cardinals from across the globe convening at the Vatican where Francis will make 21 new cardinals. They will also discuss the new apostolic constitution "Praedicate Evangelium" or "Preach the Gospel".

Much has been made of the unusual timing of these events in August instead of September. Speculation includes Francis may be hurrying to cement his legacy. His cardinal appointments are assumed to be a sign that he is paving the way toward his successor.

That's just not right, Maradiaga says.

The consistory "is proof that the pope is moving forward, he is not going to resign, nor is he sick".

While it is true Francis has had various ills - including sciatica and knee pain which have recently led him to cancel events that put a strain on his legs and eventually forced him to use a wheelchair - resignation is not on his horizon.

The summit of cardinals will be an opportunity to address "Francis' great reform," and the pope "is perfectly fine" despite his knee pain and "will continue to govern the church," says Maradiaga.

So why the rumours?

It could be a case of one and one equaling five. First, the August changes; then the wheelchair and a few cancellations.

Then the pope has a packed schedule for July including trips to South Sudan, the Congo and another to Canada - but - no general audiences and prayer services.

Doctors recommend surgery. Francis says "I'd resign rather than undergo surgery."

Then - the big rumour reason: Francis's decision to visit the Basilica of Collemaggio where Pope Celestine V, who retired from the pontificate after curial opposition, is buried.

Pope Benedict XVI visited the site in 2009 and laid his pallium, a liturgical vestment symbolising papal authority, before the tomb. Four years later, he resigned.

Maradiaga says reading Francis' visit to the basilica as a sign of his imminent resignation constitutes a "cheap soap opera". The trip to Aquila had been planned for a long time, he says.

In his view, Francis's critics are spreading the rumours about his resignation.

At present for instance, he is faced with a "sit-down strike" by members of the Curia who oppose his reforms. That this is the case is clear: so far, the apostolic constitution has not yet been translated into any language other than Italian.

Source

• Religion News Service

He claimed during a radio interview in North Dakota last week that his father, President Donald Trump, "literally saved Christianity." Read more

They say they are seriously concerned about claims they are urging Catholics to vote for the party.

The bishops have reported the false statement to the Electoral Commission and told all parishes and the New Conservative Party that it is fake news.

The Catholic Bishops of Aotearoa New Zealand have not endorsed and will not endorse any political party said Cardinal John Dew who is Metropolitan Archbishop of Wellington and ice-president of the NZ Catholic Bishops Conference.

"We are in the final stages of preparing our triennial Election Statement for distribution," said Cardinal Dew.

"Our Election Statement will specifically say that it is not our role as bishops to tell people who to vote for."

Dew said that all claims in the circulating statement are false.

"I am particularly concerned that this false statement purports to say some of these fabrications were made in the name of an employee of a Church entity who is named in the document. That is truly appalling.

We have been told by a representative of the New Conservative Party that they do not know who is behind the false statement, and we accept that," Dew said.

The fake news post attacked Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for being a "deliberately unmarried mother," claimed the church did not believe the science on climate change and opposed the UN Global Pact for Migration.

The Catholic Church believes that people have the right to migrate and supports refugee efforts.

Pope Francis has repeatedly called for stronger efforts in the fight against climate change, and the Auckland Diocese formally supported the Zero Carbon Act.

The church has never made any statement on the Prime Minister's relationship status.

Source

• catholic.org.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• Image: tvnz.co.nz

During the pandemic lockdown, fake news on the internet seems to have intensified in Brazil. Much of it is directed against the Church, often by people who claim to be Catholic.

One event that triggered a new wave of fake news against the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) was its recommendation that all public liturgies be suspended to help prevent the virus being spread.

While most dioceses and parishes throughout Brazil suspended public Masses and told churchgoers to stay home, online campaigns pressuerd the bishops to reverse their decision.

The mainly traditionalists objectors were echoing President Jair Bolsonaro, who was refusing to impose social distancing measures as part of his campaign to minimise the threat posed by COVID-19. In his opinion, COVID-19 is "a little flu."

The traditionalists' campaign has led to a flood of internet attack on the alleged leftist tendencies of the Brazilian Church.

These include using the CNBBs Facebook posts to accuse it of neglecting Brazilians' spiritual lives and preferring to engage in left-wing political activism.

"We have two kinds of fake news against the Church," the CNBB says.

"One of them is connected to religious fanaticism and ecclesial ultra-conservatism."

"The other one is ideological and expresses a rejection of everything that deals with fraternity, solidarity, and human rights," Bishop Joaquim Mol Guimarães says.

He thinks the problem is that two groups - ultra-traditionalists and anticommunists - have united, retro-feeding one another and expanding their reach on social media.

At the same time, the pandemic had led to the Church suddenly increasing its social media presence. Hundreds of priests and bishops have started celebrating online Masses, organizing virtual rosaries and debating Catholic topics.

"The augmented exposure of the Church in this period generated a growth in the opposition to it. The internet made it possible for small oppositionist groups with radical views inside Catholicism to have their voices articulated and amplified," Professor Moisés Sbardelotto, who specialises in Catholic communication says.

In his view, hate speech and fraudulent content are used by those groups as part of a strategy and are produced by professionals. "Such ideas many times reach ill-prepared churchgoers, who only have a basic community experience and didn't have access to a strong Catholic formation."

Bishop Devair Fonseca says the pandemic has been accelerating the bishops' awareness of the need for a professional organization of the Church's social media.

"The Church knew it was important to manage pages and channels on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, but I think that now most people recognize that more investment is needed."

Guimarães agrees. "We want the Brazilian Church to have a contemporary approach to the internet," he says.

Source

• Crux NOw
• Image: CNBC.com

In their view, the companies should be fined for spreading fake news and offensive content.

The conference points out that social media platforms' core business is to sell advertising and maximise profits.

The bishops want greater regulation of digital platforms and coordinated efforts by governments around the world to achieve this.

In particular, they want users' personal data to be protected and basic standards that cannot be undermined by a drive for profit and market domination.

The viral spread of fake news, half-truths, lies and slander must also be addressed, the bishops' conference says.

"Our right to truthful information and trustworthy broadcasting requires greater regulation of digital platforms, with sanctions for the spread of fake, divisive and offensive content.

"Governments have a responsibility to support robust and independent journalism, particularly through the public broadcaster."

Far too often, the digital world has become a place of hatred, the bishops note.

"Pushing users to more extreme positions and promoting fake news and conspiracy theories sells. But this is at odds with human solidarity."

The bishops also say the digital community is falling prey to automated programmes.

These include the Twitter 'bots' that disseminated misinformation during the 2016 United States election.

"In an industry that is facing a growing backlash over the real impact of disinformation, electoral interference and data misuse, it is apparent to many that social media networks need some form of government accountability.

"Unfortunately, some nation states are doing the opposite ..."

The bishops cited the Christchurch mosque massacre which was broadcast on social media, saying "it becomes clearer that these platforms need to be held to account.

"Just as we would not accept a highway built of rubble that leads us nowhere we want to go, so too we cannot accept a digital world designed to exploit our weaknesses and bring out the worst in people," the bishops say.

• 9 News
• Image: Legal Zoom

Some social media users shared misleading videos allegedly showing attacks on churches and mass conversions to Islam. We debunked some of the videos below - and show you where they really came from. Read more

The next day, reports surfaced that Trump had been denying that it is his voice on the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape, in which he made vulgar comments about women.

But when the tape was made public last year, he acknowledged it was him. Both can't be true.

Meanwhile, within a week, The Washington Post revealed that an activist organization had paid a woman to lie about being impregnated by Senate candidate Roy Moore when she was a teenager.

The story was an attempt to expose media bias on the part of the Post if they had run with the false story, but the paper instead revealed the truth: that the abuse and pregnancy did not happen and the woman worked for an organization with the ironic name Veritas, Latin for "truth."

These recent three examples raise the question: Is lying wrong? Is it still — as Catholics would say — a sin?

Absolutely, say theologians and ethicists. As parents throughout history have pointed out, just because everybody's doing it, doesn't make it right.

The Catholic ethical tradition is clear that lying is morally wrong, and actually maintains that it is wrong in all situations, although some ethicists see some distinctions.

But all agree that the consequences of lying are especially serious when done by leaders of social institutions, such as government, media or even churches.

"Lying destroys trust between people by corroding communication," said Lisa Fullam, professor of moral theology at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in California.

Widespread lying — or perhaps widespread knowledge about lying, thanks to new media technology — can lead to cynicism, in which people assume that everyone is untruthful for their own self-interest, Fullam said.

This is not only sinful, but has dangerous implications for a democracy, where confidence in the honesty of leaders is critical and truthful knowledge is necessary for citizenship, Fullam said. Continue reading

• Heidi Schlumpf is National Catholic Reporter's national correspondent, based in Chicago.

Archbishop Arthur Roche, who is the number two official at the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, says reports of a joint Mass were "utterly false".

Greg Burke, Director of the Holy See Press Office, backs up Roche, saying the claims are "simply untrue."

Their denials followed a report by author Marco Tosatti in "First Things" quoting anonymous sources who said a commission was looking at creating an "ecumenical Mass".

First Things claims to be "America's most influential journal of religion and public life".

The report also says Cardinal Sarah, the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, had not been informed of the plans.

In addition, it says Archbishop Roche and Archbishop Piero Marini - who was the former Master of Ceremonies for John Paul II - were both involved in the commission.

The First Things story was later followed up in The Australian, which put the claims of a possible joint Mass to the Vatican but did not receive a response.

Church teaching prevents Catholics and other Christian denominations from sharing communion.

However, joint prayer services with an ecumenical liturgy was agreed between Catholics and Lutherans to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

Pope Francis raised the possibility of Lutherans receiving communion during Mass in November 2015, although this did not include communion at church.

Canon law and the 1993 Ecumenical Directory allow for certain cases of emergency or "grave necessity" in which "intercommunion" is possible.

Source

• Aleteia
• The Tablet
• Image: Catholic Exchange

In fact, he isn't dying. The report is "pure invention," Benedict's personal secretary Archbishop Georg Ganswein says.

Ganswein is also alleged to have said Benedict was "like a candle that fades slowly".

"He is serene, at peace with God, with himself and the world," the fake report that made its way into many media outlets continues.

"He can no longer walk without help and can no longer celebrate Mass. Please pray for our beloved Pope Benedict XVI."

In a media interview, Ganswein refuted the rumours.

"I have received in the last two days many messages that refer to this note, and people are worried.

"It is false and wrong, and I would like to know who the author of this is."

Ganswein says Benedict's brother was at the Vatican to visit him last week. "Both had a good time" during the week-long visit.

Earlier this month a Coptic Catholic bishop of Egypt said Benedict is now very weak at age 90, but still "aware of everything".

Source

• The Independent
• Christian Today
• Image: Catholic World Report

The item came in the form of a text from EFKS TV's reporter and media officer Rula Su'a Vaai. The text was subsequently confirmed by telephone. EFKS TV is the CCCS's TV channel.

Given the urgency and the subject of the press conference, Talamua's reporter Lagi Keresoma dropped everything, including preparations for a trip overseas on Sunday night, to rush down to the church headquarters to attend the media briefing.

But she discovered that the media officer had used the Church Chairman and his supposed press conference to lure the media into promoting a Carols Programme called 12 Joyful Nights of Christmas.

When she asked out of disappointment…. "what is this….?" the officer just shrugged it off with a smile.

Keresoma and the Samoa Observer reporter left a few minutes after the Christmas Carols promotion started.

Source

• Talamua
• Image: RNZ

George Orwell's vision in 1984 is beginning to look like old news.

It is not just fake news that is the problem.

Increasingly, we live in a world of fake figures, especially of the financial type.

There is a cliche in management that 'what gets measured gets done'. In public discourse that might be translated to 'what gets measured is considered real'.

A little thought shows this to be nonsense. If someone claimed that the beauty of Mozart is 145.3 per cent greater than Brahms, it would obviously be ridiculous.

But it does not mean such beauty does not exist. It just means that it is not accessible to quantitative measurement.

To push this measurement bias, a distinction is often made between 'anecdotal' and 'quantitative' claims.

It is true that stories are necessarily partial. But that does not mean that quantitative measures are the solution. Often, they have even greater problems.

One obvious fake figure is gross domestic product, or GDP, which is taken as a measure of national wellbeing. In fact, it is just a measure of transactions.

If money changes hands because something disastrous happens then GDP will rise. The recent tsunami in Japan, for example, led to a rise in that country's GDP. Yet it was hardly an indicator of national wellbeing.

GDP is not even a proper measure of production. As the economist Michael Hudson has noted finance, insurance and real estate do not produce anything; they are parasitical.

If they are taken out of GDP it shows most developed economies withering. This is not a new insight; Robert F Kennedy pointed out decades ago that GDP measures 'everything except that which is worthwhile'. Continue reading

• David James is the managing editor of businessadvantagepng.com. He was involved in a project related to the Peace Index.

Their aim - to develop strategies to counter fake news.

They noted social media is particularly known for spreading false news stories.

The meeting was convened by the World Catholic Association for Communication. Read more

The Vatican said most people will realise the current story is "absurd".

The latest nonsense is said to have started at a fake news site called RealNewsRightNow.com

The story says Francis said God told him to revise the Ten Commandments.

Francis agreed to do so and tweaked the Commandments to include reference to children raised by same-sex parents.

He also removed the Commandment forbidding adultery.

RealNewsRightNow went on to say Francis added new commandments to the original 10.

The new ones forbid genetic engineering and self-glorification.

It finished by saying the Vatican was having a new set of commandments etched into marble.

Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said stories like this are "absurd" and that most people recognize them as such.

Fakenewswatch.com says the RealNewsRightNow.com is one of a number of news sites that specialise in making up false news.

These sites usually mix some facts with their made up stories. They also create completely false headlines and stories to get people to click onto their websites.

Source

• National Post
• Image: K-ZAP