As Pope Francis Ails, Outlandish Rumors Run Wild

On Tuesday night, outside the Rome hospital where Pope Francis is being treated for a complex lung infection, the 8th King of Rome, a self-described “trash influencer” embarked on a secret mission. He wore a wig, hid his pink-and-blue-dyed beard behind a surgical mask and then ventured inside the hospital to show his followers what he thought was the truth: that the pope was not actually there.

The 8th King of Rome, a former funeral home worker whose real name is Simone Basile, is one of many Italians who have flooded social media, telegram channels and WhatsApp chats with unsubstantiated claims that Francis has in fact died and that the papal deep state is hiding the news.

Roman Catholic cardinals have issued calls to “free ourselves from much fake news” on the pope’s health and blamed anti-Francis forces for the circulation of false information. Vatican officials said they were privately discussing the reports as the misinformation traveled from the internet to bar counters, locker rooms and the officials’ own smartphones.

“They say we, the Roman Curia, keep Francis frozen so that we can do our scheming,” said Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi.

The chatter seems impervious to the new, more forthcoming communication strategy of the Vatican. The church has broken from its long tradition of secrecy and obfuscation on matters relating to the health of popes by issuing daily, granular updates on Francis’ condition. Some have included graphic detail, such as the pope inhaling his own vomit.

To online skeptics, that has not been enough. It does not seem to matter that the Vatican said that Francis had improved, and posted a photo and an audio recording of his voice. The church’s reputation as a den of intrigue, coupled with an age in which nothing is taken at face value, has let conspiracy theories run wild.