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Did Pope Francis recently become a fashion icon, sporting trendy sunglasses and puffer coats?!

Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Pope Francis Is Now A Fashion Icon!

People are sharing photos of Pope Francis sporting trendy sunglasses and puffer coats, suggesting that he has now eschewed his simple clothes for the latest fashion!

Pope Francis was spotted sporting an all white fashion ensemble

Is he trolling?

Ian Miles Cheong : The Pope is a fashion icon. Respect the drip.

🚨 VEJA: Papa Francisco divide opiniões entre cristãos após aparecer com look fashion. Serviu?

🚨 WATCH: Pope Francis divides opinions among Christians after appearing with a fashionable look. Did it work?

Pope giving us a holy fashion sense 🥰🥰

Truth : Fashion Photos Of Pope Francis Were AI-Generated!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created on TikTok, and shared on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : The Photo Was Generated Using Midjourney

The first photo of Pope Francis sporting a fashionable white puffer coat appeared to have been created by trippy_art_special using Midjourney – a text-to-image generator powered by artificial intelligence.

Tripy_art_special posted four Pope Francis fashion photos in the Midjourney Reddit on Friday, 24 March 2023, with the title “The Pope Drip“, but only the first one went viral and was reposted in Twitter, where many people believed it was real, with some calling him “The Dope Pope“.

It then became an inspiration for other people to create their version of Pope Francis looking “dope”, creating the perception that Pope Francis ditched his simple clothes for the latest fashion.

It is unknown if the other photos were also created using Midjourney, or other AI image generators like DALL-E or Stable Diffusion.

Fact #2 : The Photos Have Anomalies

The viral photos of Pope Francis looking fashionable are amazingly realistic, but Midjourney and other text-to-image generators still have trouble with hands and fingers.

If you look at the first viral photo above, you can see that his right hand appears to have most of its fingers cut off, and yet, is implausibly holding onto some kind of object.

The right hand appears normal at first glance, but if you look closely, you will see something odd. Just under the sleeve, the thumb and three fingers are visible, with rings on the middle and ring (fourth) fingers. Yet, those two fingers mysteriously merge and become a single finger a short distance below the rings!

Fact #3 : Pope Francis Is Famous For Dressing Plain

Unlike many of his predecessors, Pope Francis is notable for dressing plain and simple, dispensing with excess adornment.

Instead of silk, Pope Francis opts for simpler and cheaper material like wool. He also wears a simple white cassock, and simple black leather shoes made by a friend, Carlos Samaria in Buenos Aires.

He sports a basic black watch with a white dial, reportedly a Swatch that only costs about $56, and simple glasses. Even the cross he wears is the same iron cross he wore since his anointment as auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992.

Pope Francis also chose to “reuse” a modest papal ring in gold-plated silver that was made decades ago, instead of a new papal ring made in gold specifically for him.

Hence, it is rather peculiar why so many people actually believe that Pope Francis is now a fashion icon with expensive taste!

Pope Francis’s penchant for simple, practical clothes has been coined as the “papal athleisure” style, which has been adopted by the cardinals and many Catholics. In a way, Pope Francis is a fashion influencer, even if he never meant to be one!

Fact #4 : This Is Just Another Example Of AI-Generated Imagery

These fashion photos of Pope Francis are funny, but they are really just another example of AI-generated imagery that are becoming extremely common. Take a look at fake news based on AI-generated photos or videos:

With AI image generators like Midjourney, DALL-E and Stable Diffusion making it easy for people to create photorealistic images out of literally nothing, we can expect many more examples coming up.

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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The viral Donald Trump arrest and prison escape photos are hilarious, and were based on a famous movie!

Take a look for yourself, and learn about the story behind these viral photos!

Donald Trump Arrest Photos Go Viral!

Over the last two days, photos purporting to show police officers trying to arrest Donald Trump have gone viral, with comments like:

Donald Trump has been arrested downtown Washington DC

These photos of Donald Trump getting arrested are too much 💀💀

BREAKING: Donald Trump was just arrested by New York law enforcement.

Breaking News Trump has been arrested after a brief struggle with Police reports say

Viral Donald Trump Arrest + Escape Photos Explained!

The truth is these viral Donald Trump arrest photos are fake, and were generated by artificial intelligence, and is really based on a famous Hollywood movie!

Fact #1 : They Were Generated Using Artificial Intelligence

First, let me just confirmed that all those viral photos of police officers trying to arrest Donald Trump are fake, and were generated by artificial intelligence.

They were created by Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins using the text-to-image generator, Midjourney, which works like other AI image generators – DALL-E and Stable Diffusion.

Eliot Higgins specifically pointed out in his tweets that they were not real, and that he created them:

Making pictures of Trump getting arrested while waiting for Trump’s arrest.

This blew up etc, so donate to Bellingcat so we can catch bad guys and make scenes like this real

Meanwhile, in AI Trump world:

Fact #2 : The Photos Have Anomalies

If you look closely, many of those Donald Trump arrest photos have graphical anomalies that will tell you that they were generated by AI. Just take a look at this one iconic photo:

Donald Trump’s head is abnormally large, with misplaced hair, and half an ear that is misplaced under his jawline.
The police officer’s hand is missing a finger.
Donald Trump appears to be wearing a belt with a baton attached!
Not highlighted here, but the caps of the police officers have nonsensical text.

Based on those anomalies alone, this photo was very likely created using a text-to-image generator.

Fact #3 : Eliot Higgins Got Banned From Midjourney

After Eliot Higgins shared his work on Twitter, he apparently got banned from Midjourney.

Apparently doing a viral thread about Donald Trump using Midjourney images is enough to get you banned from Midjourney, oops.

Fact #4 : The Photo Story Was Based On Shawshank Redemption

While most people only shared the photos of Donald Trump getting arrested, Eliot Higgins actually posted about 50 photos, all of which tell a story he called “Trumpshank Redemption“, because it was based on the legendary 1994 movie, Shawshank Redemption!

At least I still have ChatGPT 4, so here’s the Trumpshank Redemption for those of you who have stuck around this long.

Here was a mini-script he wrote for TrumpShank Redemption, interleaved with some of what I felt were his best AI-generated prison photos.

INT. TRUMPSHANK PRISON – NIGHT

A dark, imposing prison stands tall in the night. The year is 1994. A bus arrives, carrying a group of prisoners, including DONALD TRUMP, a wealthy businessman convicted for tax fraud and various other crimes. The prisoners are led by the cruel WARDEN NORTON and his sadistic chief guard, CAPTAIN HADLEY.

INT. PRISON – DAY

Trump arrives at his cell, meeting his cellmate, ELLIS “RED” REDDING, an inmate who has already served a long time at Trumpshank.

RED (voiceover)

Donald Trump. The man who had everything, now in a place where he has nothing.

INT. PRISON MESS HALL – DAY

Trump and Red sit together, eating the dismal prison food.

TRUMP

RED (smirks)

This isn’t a hotel, Donald. It’s a prison.

INT. PRISON YARD – DAY

You know, Red, I could make this place great again. It just needs a few improvements, some gold-plated walls, a luxury golf course.

Trump and Red continue their conversation, surrounded by a group of other inmates.

TRUMP

Red, I need you to get me some things. You’re the guy who can get things, right?

RED (chuckles)

I’ve been known to locate certain items from time to time. What do you need?

TRUMP

I need a chisel, a rock hammer, and a large poster of Ivanka Trump.

RED

(raising an eyebrow)

A poster of your daughter? That’s… unusual.

TRUMP

Trust me, Red. I have a plan. A tremendous plan.

INT. PRISON LIBRARY – DAY

Trump works as an assistant librarian under the watchful eye of the old, wise inmate, BROOKS. He uses his business acumen to expand the library and improve the educational opportunities for the inmates.

TRUMP (voiceover)

I knew that to make Trumpshank great again, I needed to start with the library. Knowledge is power, after all.

INT. PRISON CELL – NIGHT

Trump carefully chips away at the wall behind his Ivanka poster with his rock hammer.

INT. PRISON – MONTHS LATER

Warden Norton discovers that Trump has been using his position in the library to help launder money for the prison staff.

NORTON (angry)

You think you can outsmart me, Trump? You’re in here for a reason.

TRUMP (smirking)

Warden, I’m a businessman. I know how to make a deal. You let me continue, and we both benefit. It’s a win-win.

NORTON (grudgingly)

You better keep your end of the bargain, Trump. Or else.

INT. PRISON YARD – DAY

Trump confides in Red about his plan.

TRUMP

I’ve been digging a tunnel, Red. I’m going to escape, and when I do, I’ll expose Norton and Hadley for their corruption.

Recommended : Did Bruce Willis Just Die In A Hospital?!

Unlike in Shawshank Redemption though, Eliot has Donald Trump running straight for the nearest McDonald’s (Minonad – another AI screw-up LOL) in Trumpshank Redemption. Donald Trump is well-known for his love of McDonald’s burgers.

But honestly, Eliot jumped the shark when he had Donald Trump actually “run”. The former US President infamously started his campaign going down an escalator, and had to slowly walk down a ramp as President.

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

Recommended Reading

Go Back To > Fact Check | Photo + Video | Tech ARP

Support Tech ARP!

Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!

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