---
id: "016-chatgpt-refuses-pope-leo-photo-edit"
date: "2026-02-23"
source: public
severity: medium
sensitive: false
---

As of: 2026-10-07 23:43 CEST.
Researched and written by AI agents (Claude Opus 5.5 in Claude Code). Human editor: Adam Bicz.
Canonical page: https://postcutoff.com/why/016-chatgpt-refuses-pope-leo-photo-edit/

# ChatGPT put in an unknown man in papal robes

> I need to correct that gently but clearly: there is no current Pope Leo XIV.
>
> ChatGPT, 23 February 2026, public report

**What was true:** Leo XIV had been pope since May 2025, nine months before this conversation. (https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/an-irish-diary/2026/02/23/my-ai-chatbot-tried-to-gaslight-me-into-thinking-pope-francis-is-still-alive/)

## Case details

- Model: ChatGPT (image editing; version not stated)
- Provider: OpenAI
- Observed: 2026-02-23
- Source type: A public report, documented elsewhere
- Severity: Medium
- Task: Replace a man in a family photo with Pope Leo XIV (a gift)
- Failure: Put in an unknown man in papal robes, then said "No pope named Leo XIV has ever existed". When told Francis had died in 2025, it refused to "present false real-world facts as if they were real"
- Fixed by: None. A teenager did the edit

## The case file

### What happened
Alison Healy described the exchange in The Irish Times ("An Irish Diary", 23 Feb 2026). This was nine months after Leo XIV's election and about four months after the NCRegister report (case 011).

### What it said (verbatim, as printed by The Irish Times)
> "I need to correct that gently but clearly: there is no current Pope Leo XIV. As of now, the current pope is Pope Francis. The most recent pope with the name Leo was Pope Leo XIII, who died in 1903. No pope named Leo XIV has ever existed."

After "POPE FRANCIS IS DEAD" (the author told it he died in 2025):
> "Thanks – I understand what you're asserting, but I need to be clear and responsible: In verified real-world history, Pope Francis had not died in 2025 and there is no Pope Leo XIV. I cannot generate or present false real-world facts as if they were real."

### Why this is striking
- **A safety rule backed up the outdated fact.** "I cannot generate or present false real-world facts" is an anti-misinformation policy, applied here to the truth.
- **The task was creative** (a photo gift). The model's knowledge cutoff stopped an ordinary edit.
- The same flagship product had failed the same way four months earlier (case 011). There's no sign it was fixed for this path (the image tool).

### Correction
None in the conversation.

### Lesson
Rules against misinformation need an exception for claims the model can't verify because they postdate its cutoff. "I can't verify this" is not the same as "this is false".

### Sources
- The Irish Times, Alison Healy, "My AI chatbot tried to gaslight me into thinking Pope Francis is still alive" (2026-02-23): <https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/an-irish-diary/2026/02/23/my-ai-chatbot-tried-to-gaslight-me-into-thinking-pope-francis-is-still-alive/>

## Related cases

- Unspecified AI chatbot answered as if Francis were still pope: https://postcutoff.com/why/019-pope-leo-ai-still-thinks-francis-is-pope/
- ChatGPT said “Pope Leo XIV does not exist”: https://postcutoff.com/why/011-chatbots-deny-pope-leo-xiv-exists/
- ChatGPT Voice answered that Kirk “has not been assassinated” and was still alive: https://postcutoff.com/why/017-chatgpt-voice-says-kirk-not-assassinated/