STORY UPDATED: check for updates below.
Did Pope Leo XIV blast White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt or her resume during a television interview? No, that's not true: Social media posts making the claim were created and distributed by a spam operation managed from Vietnam that uses AI tools to create click bait content targeted at American and European audiences. There is no evidence that the purported interview ever took place.
The claim appeared in at least a dozen nearly identical posts including a post (archived here) shared by Lil chase page on Facebook on Apr. 22, 2026. It read:
POPE LEO XIV READS KAROLINE LEAVITT'S FULL 'RÉSUMÉ' LIVE ON CNN -- THEN SAYS, 'DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE YOU SPEAK'
Jake Tapper thought he had delivered a 'knockout' question.
He turned to Pope Leo XIV with his familiar smile:
'Your Holiness, Karoline Leavitt says you're 'out of touch, overly emotional, and should better understand energy policy before criticizing."'
Tapper expected an emotional reaction.
Instead, he was met with calm composure.
The Pope pulled out a sheet of paper, took a light breath, and began reading -- slowly, clearly, without hesitation:
'Karoline Leavitt
Campaign spokesperson known for messaging defending fossil fuels
Supports expanded domestic oil and gas drilling
Has criticized net-zero carbon goals as 'unrealistic'
No professional background in climate science
No participation in international environmental negotiations'
The Pope set the paper down, looked directly into the camera, and said:
'Jake, tell her I've done my homework. And I hope she does the same -- based on science, not slogans. When we talk about the future of our planet, this is not merely about politics or image. It is about truth, and about our moral responsibility to care for our common home.'
The studio fell silent.
Tapper opened his mouth -- then stopped.
A producer's voice whispered in his earpiece:
'We're still live...'
The clip quickly spread across social media, sparking intense debate about climate policy, political responsibility, and the role of spiritual leaders in speaking out about the future of the Earth. 🌍⛪🔥
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by Lil chase on Facebook.)
Lead Stories searched Google News (archived here) and Yahoo! News (archived here) and did not find any matching reports for the words: "Pope Leo, Karoline Leavitt, resume, CNN." Had such an interview actually occurred, major news outlets would have widely reported it. Lead Stories also searched the CNN website (archived here) and did not find any matching report or video
The Meta transparency data, available on the Lil chase profile page (archived here), shows the account is managed from Vietnam.
(Image source: post by Lil chase on Facebook.)
The photo page (archived here) on the account illustrates how it is filled with similar false claims, including others about the pope.
(Image source: post by Lil chase on Facebook.)
A Facebook search (archived here) for the phrase "POPE LEO XIV READS KAROLINE LEAVITT'S FULL "RÉSUMÉ" LIVE ON CNN" found a long list of posts making the claim, all of them linking back to management in Vietnam.
The Vietnam connection is significant, since fact-checkers, including Lead Stories, have identified a major source of AI-generated false stories coming from a single operation based in that Southeast Asian country. Recent reporting and fact checks mentioning that country are available here.
Lead Stories has published a primer -- or a prebunk -- on how to identify these kinds of fake posts exported from Vietnam. It is titled "Prebunk: Beware Of Fake Fan Pages Spreading False Stories About Your Favorite Celebrities -- How To Spot 'Viet Spam.'"
Updates:
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2026-04-23T12:48:32Z 2026-04-23T12:48:32Z Adding details about original posts link to Vietnam-based spam operation.
