There is a video story posted on YouTube about Estobar, a Golden Retriever, and Pope Francis. It is embedded below in case you missed it. My wife and I watched most of it last night. While it had undertones of a good story and depicted Francis in a very favorable light, something to me was a little off. The dialogue reviewed the same points several times, just slightly differently.
I asked Perplexity if AI was involved and received the following response:
Is the YouTube video of Pope Francis and Exobar ai generated
There is no verified evidence in the search results of a widely circulated or official YouTube video showing Pope Francis with “exobar,” that is, AI-generated. However, the context around AI-generated content involving Pope Francis is clear:
- Multiple AI-generated images and videos of Pope Francis have gone viral, including the famous image of him in a white puffer jacket, which fooled many viewers before being confirmed as AI-generated using tools like Midjourney
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Experts and fact-checkers have repeatedly warned about the dangers of AI deepfakes and misinformation, especially involving public figures like Pope Francis
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Recent AI-generated images, such as one showing Pope Francis in an open casket, have also been debunked as fake by media forensics experts
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If you are referring to a specific YouTube video featuring “Pope Francis and exobar,” there is no mention of “exobar” in the provided search results, nor is there evidence that such a video exists or is AI-generated. If a video fitting this description is circulating, it is likely to be AI-generated or manipulated, given the prevalence of such content and expert warnings about deepfakes involving the Pope
. Always verify the source and check for credible fact-checking before trusting such videos.
Don’t get me wrong. We thought the video was very moving, and we’re certain it helped many people in different ways. As Golden owners, we are well aware of how they can act and react in turbulent times. We’ve been there.
My point of this blog is to share the video and its content, but provide context. Buyer beware.