Fact check: Did Pope Leo give a 36-minute speech praising the leader of Burkina Faso?

CNA Staff, May 19, 2025 / 14:34 pm (CNA).

A 36-minute video purporting to show Pope Leo XIV reading a statement denouncing colonialism and praising Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the 37-year-old leader of Burkina Faso, has garnered nearly a million views on YouTube as of Monday. 

Claim: Pope Leo XIV is shown seated in the Paul VI Audience Hall reading from a paper. In an apparent response to a purported speech from Ibrahim Traoré, Pope Leo XIV appears to address the Catholic Church’s historical entanglement with colonialism and acknowledge its past failures to stand with the oppressed and speak out against economic exploitation and political interference in Africa. 

The “pope” then addresses ongoing injustices, including the plunder of Africa’s resources, the theft of cultural memory, the denial of sovereignty, and the crisis of migration, affirming Africa’s vital role as a “beacon of faith” and calling for a new era of justice, reconciliation, and partnership.

CNA finds: The video is entirely fake and admits as much in its own description on YouTube — but that hasn’t stopped thousands of viewers from being misled. 

“This made me cry!! What I’ve been waiting for a pope to say all my life!! Gives me hope for the world,” reads one user’s comment, amid hundreds more expressing similar sentiment. 

In reality, however, a disclaimer in the video’s description, posted by the channel Pan-African Dreams, explicitly describes the video as “a work of fiction inspired by the life of Ibrahim Traoré.”

“While some elements are based on real events, the situations and dialogues described are entirely imaginary and do not reflect any actual events. Any resemblance to real-life facts is purely coincidental,” the disclaimer says. 

A YouTube-required label on the video also notes that it contains “Altered or synthetic content: Sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated.”

The video is by no means the first AI-generated, fake video of the newly elected Pope Leo to make the rounds online. (The pope himself, in a May 12 address to the media, has already emphasized the responsibility and discernment needed by all people, of all ages, in the use of artificial intelligence.)

In addition, this isn’t the first fake, propagandizing video to surface online specifically glorifying Traoré. In fact, posts recently circulated on social media claim to share a song released by jailed R&B singer R. Kelly in support of Traoré and his regime, AFP Fact-Check reported.

The young military leader, who came to power in 2022 following a coup, has been accused by observers of benefiting from propaganda specifically produced by Russia, possibly because of a connection to the infamous Russian mercenary organization the Wagner Group.  

The verdict: The video is fake and not to be taken seriously. That doesn’t mean Pope Leo will never address the topics raised in the video, such as colonialism and Catholicism in Africa, however — he just hasn’t yet.

We rate this claim false.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/264199/fact-check-did-pope-leo-give-a-36-minute-speech-praising-the-leader-of-burkina-faso