Netizens fooled by AI-generated viral images of Pope Francis in white puffer jacket
Viral image of Pope Francis wearing white puffer jacket.
An image of Pope Francis sporting a stylish white puffer jacket went viral on social media, fooling thousands of netizens into believing that it is a real image contrary to the fact that it was created using artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
The AI image, in which the Pope is seen donning a bejewelled crucifix and holding in one hand what looks like a coffee cup, was posted for the first time on Reddit on Friday with the title "The Pope Drip" as part of a subreddit called r/midjourney. The image was generated using an AI programme called Midjourney.
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Slowly, the image started circulating on other social media platforms like Twitter where the posts received hundreds and thousands of likes and many took it as a real photo. Among those who got bluffed by the AI image were various celebrities and even high-profile social media personalities.
Reacting to the image, Model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen tweeted. "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."
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Shortly after the pictures went posted on Twitter, there was a sudden increase in searches for the pope, as per Google Trends.
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Amongst the many puffer pictures shared, one tweet of puffer pictures was retweeted over 25,000 times till Monday afternoon.
The man who created the picture, Pablo Xavier who is a 31-year-old construction worker, while speaking to Buzzfeed said, “I just thought it was funny to see the pope in a funny jacket.” He added that it is “definitely scary” to see that “people are running with it and thought it was real without questioning it”.
(With inputs from agencies)
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