AI fakes and the pope Trump can't be

In a bizarre twist of digital politics, former President Trump shared an AI-generated image depicting himself as the potential next pope—complete with white papal garb—amid actual news of the upcoming papal conclave. The image, shared by both Trump and the White House, comes at a time when the College of Cardinals prepares to select Pope Francis's successor through their traditional secretive process. This incident highlights the growing intersection of artificial intelligence, political messaging, and the blurring lines between reality and fabrication in our digital ecosystem.

Key Points:

• The AI-generated image of Trump as pope was shared during legitimate news coverage of preparations for selecting the next leader of the Catholic Church.

• While technically anyone who is male and a baptized Catholic could become pope, Trump fails to meet the Catholic requirement (he was baptized Presbyterian).

• The last non-cardinal pope was elected in 1378—Bartolomeo Prignano, an Italian archbishop who became Pope Urban VI—making the prospect even more implausible.

• The incident demonstrates how AI-generated imagery is increasingly being deployed in political contexts, regardless of factual accuracy.

When AI Meets Political Messaging

The most troubling aspect of this incident isn't the absurdity of Trump as pope, but rather how it represents a growing trend of political figures using AI-generated content as campaign tools. When influential figures share artificial images with millions of followers, it creates ripple effects throughout our information ecosystem. People who only glimpse the image might walk away with manufactured impressions that stick in their memory longer than the clarification that it was fake.

This matters profoundly because we're entering an election cycle where distinguishing between real and fabricated content will become increasingly difficult. AI-generated imagery has advanced dramatically even since the 2020 election. The technology can now create photorealistic depictions of events that never occurred, people in places they've never been, and scenarios that exist purely in imagination. When deployed strategically, these fabrications can shape public perception in ways traditional messaging cannot.

The Bigger Picture: AI's Growing Political Footprint

What's happening here extends beyond a single misleading image. Political campaigns are increasingly experimenting with AI-generated content in multiple formats. The recent Republican primary saw several AI-generated ads depicting dystopian futures under