Are social media posts claiming that Pope Leo XIV and a long list of celebrities each filed a $50 million lawsuit against a news host for "vicious, calculated defamation" real? No, that's not true: None of the celebrities named in the posts made any such statement. The claims came from a spam operation managed from Vietnam that uses AI-generated Facebook posts to send traffic to fake websites loaded with ads.
Among the false posts Lead Stories found is a post (archived here) making the claim about Pope Leo XIV shared by the "Ivan Tait" Facebook page on May 20, 2026. The text opened:
"YOU DEFAMED ME ON LIVE TV -- NOW PAY THE PRICE!" -- Pope Leo XIV Files $50 MILLION Lawsuit Against ABC News and David Muir After Explosive On-Air Ambush
This wasn't just a disagreement.
This was war -- broadcast live to millions.
Outspoken Catholic leader and public figure Pope Leo XIV has reportedly filed a $50 million lawsuit against ABC News and anchor David Muir, accusing them of "vicious, calculated defamation" in what his legal team calls a "character assassination" disguised as televised journalism.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Fri May 22 23:13:50 2026 UTC)
(Image source: Ivan Tait Facebook page)
The post continued:
His lawyers aren't holding back:
"THIS WASN'T COMMENTARY -- IT WAS CHARACTER EXECUTION, BROADCAST TO MILLIONS!"
Sources claim Pope Leo XIV is prepared to drag everyone into court -- producers, executives, and every individual who allegedly stood by while it unfolded.
"They tried to humiliate me on live TV -- now they'll face public humiliation in court."
One insider put it bluntly:
"They didn't just cross a line -- they bulldozed it. And Pope Leo XIV is about to bulldoze back."
The lawsuit has reportedly sent shockwaves through the media world, with insiders whispering that this could be the case that rewrites the rules of live television forever.
A Google search (archived here) for "You defamed me on live TV" returned no credible reporting that any such statement was made. It returned only links to the fake posts in this series.
Lead Stories searched Facebook to identify other fake posts in the series, including with a search (archived here) for the keywords "You defamed me on live TV." The majority of the 96 false posts claim the lawsuits are targeting ABC News and anchor David Muir. Other posts name the lawsuit targets as The View hosts Sunny Hostin and Whoopi Goldberg, Fox News host Sean Hannity, Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan, ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) host Omar Sachedina, Australian Channel 9 host Karl Stefanovic, and New Zealand TVNZ host Jack Tame.
The posts named 80 musicians, sports stars, news hosts, religious leaders, comedians, authors, actors, and the First Lady of the United States as plaintiffs, including:
- 50 Cent
- Alex Karaban
- Anderson Cooper
- Andrew Webster
- Audrey Vandagriff
- Bad Bunny
- Barry Manilow
- Bette Midler
- Bill Leroy
- Billy Bob Thornton
- Bobby Witt Jr.
- Boy George
- Brandon Hyde
- Cade Cunningham
- Cameron Boozer
- Charlotte Flair
- Chris Fagan
- Chris Tomlin
- Craig Bellamy
- Danny Trejo
- Dave Van Horn
- David Attenborough
- Dionne Warwick
- Dolly Parton
- Ellen Pompeo
- Emilia Clarke
- GloRilla
- Gretchen Wilson
- Hannah Barron
- Ina Garten
- Jackson Chourio
- Jason Momoa
- Jay Leno
- Jelly Roll
- Jim Caviezel
- Joe Espada
- Jordan Peterson
- Justin Verlander
- Kalyn Ponga
- Kamohai Kalama
- Katt Williams
- Kevin Costner
- Kid Rock
- Kurt Russell
- Lawrence B. Jones III
- Lenny Kravitz
- Luke Bryan
- Luke Grimes
- Maksim Chmerkovskiy
- Marilyn Manson
- Matt Rhule
- Matt Rife
- Melania Trump
- Mike Macdonald
- Mike Norvell
- Natalie Portman
- Nikki Sixx
- P!nk
- Paddy Pimblett
- Patti LaBelle
- Patty Gasso
- Paul McCartney
- Paul Simon
- Paul Stanley
- Pope Leo XIV
- Rick Springfield
- Ronnie Dunn
- Roseanne Barr
- Rylan Clark
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- Sophie Cunningham
- Spencer Danielson
- Steve Perry
- Steven Furtick
- Sunny Hostin
- Ted Nugent
- Tim Tebow
- Tom Izzo
- Tom Jones
- Willie Nelson
(Image source: Facebook)
The transparency data on the profile page (archived here) of the Facebook account that posted the Pope Leo claim confirmed it is managed from Vietnam.
(Image source: Ivan Tait Facebook profile page)
The post linked an article (archived here) titled "YOU DEFAMED ME ON LIVE TV -- NOW PAY THE PRICE!" -- Pope Leo XIV Drops $50 Millioп Legal Bomb oп ABC News aпd David Mυir." The article uses lookalike Cyrillic letters used in place of Latin letters, which may be an attempt to evade automated content moderation.
The page includes a large video ad for the re-election campaign of California State Senator Caroline Menjivar (archived here), which indicates that the publisher is monetizing the spam factory through mainstream ad placement services. Lead Stories reached out to Sen. Menjivar to make her aware of how her campaign dollars were being used. We will update this story when we receive a reply.
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of jervisfamily.com)
The terms of service page (archived here) for the spam website confirmed it, too, is managed from Vietnam.
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of jervisfamily.com/tos)
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.'"
