Did a widely-viewed video authentically show Pope Francis in a wheelchair with three hands? No, that's not true: that clip was fake and a digital fabrication. It recreated a real moment, shown in authentic video, in which Francis emerged on to the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica to give the Easter Sunday "urbi et orbi" blessing, one day before his death on April 21, 2025.
The video was presented as authentic in an April 28, 2025, post on X (archived here), along with the text: "Three hands."
The clip can be watched below:
Three hands 😳 pic.twitter.com/0QtZsr6L1r
-- Michael ❤️✝️🇺🇸 (@Michael59302787) April 28, 2025
The video was fake, and showed signs of having being created using generative AI.
The original footage showed Francis being assisted, in a wheelchair, and emerging on to the balcony at St. Peter's Basilica in order to give the traditional "urbi et orbi" blessing on Easter Sunday in 2025. That moment can be watched below:
In the fabricated recreation of that moment, Francis raises his right hand while his left hand remains on his lap, then as he returns his right hand to his lap, the fingers of both hands appear interlaced out of nowhere, while his "left hand" remains in position on his lap.
This is a classic, telltale glitch typical of AI-generated video content.
Similarly, the wheelchair rolls along without being pushed, whereas we know from the original footage that it was being pushed at all times as Francis emerged on to the balcony.
Finally, around three seconds into the clip, the fabric of Francis's vestments behind his right arm suddenly shifts forward without being touched by anything else, another unnatural movement that of the kind that is typical for AI-generated video.
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For previous Lead Stories fact checks about Pope Francis, click here.
