# Balenciaga Pope

> An AI-generated pope in a puffer coat drew 28.1 million views on one Twitter repost.

- Owner: Pablo Xavier
- Kind: Meme & format
- Sector: Culture (no sector)
- Seed date: 2023-03-24
- Peak date: Week of Mar 25, 2023
- Date basis: Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.
- Spread Score: 34 (Niche), v1.2
- Mechanics: Response chain, Maker origin, Controversy, Platform jump, Press loop

## Summary

Repost framing varied: Pop Tingz explicitly labelled the picture AI-generated, while Teigen admitted believing it and continued questioning its reality. AFP then obtained a direct Vatican photographic-service denial. Captions and replies carried different provenance claims.

## Timeline

- 2023-03-24 — u/trippy_art_special (Reddit) — Pablo Xavier posted AI-generated images of Pope Francis in a white puffer coat to r/midjourney.
- 2023-03-25 — @skyferrori (X) — @skyferrori reposted the puffer-coat image to Twitter.
- Week of Mar 25, 2023 — Internet users (Open web) — The image spread across social networks over the weekend and prompted debunking coverage.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/balenciaga-pope

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Balenciaga Pope.” Case HIS-00665. Spread Score v1.2: 34/100. Updated 2026-10-14. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-00665