Korean Catholic bishops warn faithful against AI deepfake videos falsely portraying bishops and Pope Leo XIV, citing legal violations and doctrinal confusion.
Newsroom (17/11/2025 Gaudium Press ) The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea (CBCK) has issued a stern warning to the country’s 5.9 million Catholics, urging them to treat with extreme caution any online videos that appear to feature Korean bishops or even Pope Leo XIV delivering statements that have never been officially approved.
In a November 11 statement titled “Caution Regarding Videos Using Artificial Intelligence,” the bishops accused unidentified online channels of using generative AI and image-manipulation techniques to “disguise or distort personal opinions as bishops’ statements or teachings,” thereby sowing “confusion in the faith of believers” and undermining the Church’s public authority.
The notice marks the second time in two months that the Korean hierarchy has addressed the issue. A September 9 communiqué had already flagged YouTube and TikTok content that “does not conform to Catholic doctrine.” The new statement goes further, explicitly identifying the use of deepfake technology and photoshopped imagery — often built from official diocesan photos or videos — as the primary threat.
“Some channels are producing and distributing videos or images of bishops by using photos or videos released by media outlets or dioceses and then superimposing the bishops’ faces onto them,” the CBCK wrote. Such practices, the bishops stressed, are carried out “without any consent from the ecclesiastical hierarchy.”
The warning follows a global wave of AI-fabricated papal content earlier this year. Dozens of YouTube and TikTok accounts published hundreds of synthetic sermons and speeches in English and Spanish that mimicked the voice and likeness of Pope Leo XIV. Fact-checks by AFP and other international agencies confirmed the material was entirely fabricated, prompting Vatican spokespersons and dioceses worldwide to issue disclaimers.
In South Korea, where generative AI adoption has surged — government data cited by Yonhap News Agency show the proportion of internet users who have tried services such as ChatGPT nearly doubled from 17.6 percent in 2023 to 33.3 percent in 2024 — the bishops fear the technology is now being weaponized against the local Church.
The CBCK emphasized that creating and distributing such content without permission violates multiple provisions of South Korea’s Copyright Act, including the rights of reproduction, public transmission, and the creation of derivative works. Penalties can reach up to five years’ imprisonment, a fine of 50 million won (approximately US$34,265), or both.
Additional criminal liability may arise if the manipulated content defames the depicted individuals or misleads the public, with possible sentences of up to three years in prison or fines of 30 million won.
Calling on the faithful to exercise “prudent discernment,” the bishops urged Catholics to rely exclusively on material published through official Vatican channels, local diocesan websites, and recognized Catholic media outlets.
“There is a high possibility that content from non-official channels has been edited or synthesized without permission,” the statement cautioned.
As deepfake technology becomes more accessible and convincing, the Korean bishops’ alert adds Asia’s fourth-largest Catholic community to a growing list of ecclesiastical bodies grappling with the pastoral and legal challenges posed by artificial intelligence.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from UCA News
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