Pope Francis endorsed Donald Trump for president
| Pope Francis endorsed Donald Trump for president | |
|---|---|
| FALSE | |
| "Pope Francis shocked the world by endorsing Donald Trump for president of the United States in 2016." | |
| Domain | Technology & Media |
| Tactic | Fabrication Imposture |
| Era | Current |
| First seen | 2016 |
| Origin | A fabricated article published in July 2016 by WTOE 5 News, a fake news website styled as a local television station, and spread widely on Facebook |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-27 |
| Further reading: books on Technology & Media | |
The claim that Pope Francis endorsed Donald Trump for president was one of the most widely shared fake news stories of the 2016 US presidential election. The fabricated article said the pope had released a statement endorsing Trump. It was published by a site called WTOE 5 News, which had no connection to any real television station. The Vatican never issued any such statement, and the pope did not endorse any candidate. A BuzzFeed News analysis found it was the top-performing fake election story on Facebook in the final months of the campaign.
What the evidence shows
- No statement. The Vatican made no endorsement. The pope has avoided endorsing candidates in elections. In February 2016, he had criticized Trump's proposal to build a border wall, saying a person who thinks only about building walls "is not Christian."
- The source. WTOE 5 News was part of a network of fake news sites. Its "about" page acknowledged that it was a fantasy news site, but readers who saw the story on social media rarely saw that disclosure.
- Engagement. BuzzFeed News reporter Craig Silverman found that the story generated more than 960,000 shares, reactions and comments on Facebook, more than any mainstream news story about the election in the same period.
- Fake news economy. Investigations found that many fake news sites in 2016 were run for advertising profit, including by teenagers in Veles, North Macedonia, who found that pro-Trump content attracted high engagement.
- Opposite fakes. A separate fabricated story claimed the pope had endorsed Hillary Clinton, showing that such hoaxes followed engagement rather than one ideology.
Why it persists
The story exploited the credibility of a news-like name and a format that looked like a local TV station. Social media rewarded sharing without clicking, so headlines spread far beyond the sites where disclosures could be found.
Lessons for readers
- Check unfamiliar news sites before sharing their stories.
- Major endorsements would be reported by many reputable outlets.
- Fake news can be produced for profit rather than politics.
- Social media engagement measures attention, not accuracy.
See also
Sources
- Craig Silverman, "This Analysis Shows How Viral Fake Election News Stories Outperformed Real News On Facebook," BuzzFeed News, November 16, 2016.
- Samanth Subramanian, "Inside the Macedonian Fake-News Complex," Wired, February 15, 2017.