Pope Leo Warns Journalists Must Stop Totalitarianism's Erosion of Fact
VATICAN CITY—Pope Leo XIV delivered a fervent appeal to the world's leading news professionals on October 9, 2025, urging them to vigorously defend the truth and act as a crucial barrier against those who exploit "the ancient art of lying" to sow division.
Speaking to journalists and staff from major news agencies attending a conference sponsored by MINDS International, the Pope declared that communications "cannot and must not separate its work from the sharing of truth."
"You can also be a bulwark of civility against the quicksand of approximation and post-truth," he told the audience.
The Crisis in Communication and the Need for Ethics
Pope Leo XIV acknowledged a paradox: in the age of rapid communication, news agencies and media consumers are both facing a period of crisis. He noted that citizens are "often mistaking the false for the true and the authentic for the artificial."
To combat this, he emphasized the vital role of ethical journalism, stressing that "information is a public good" that all must protect. The keys to restoring public trust and citizens' role as "protagonists" in the information system, he said, are:
- Transparency of sources and ownership.
- Accountability.
- Quality and objectivity.
He issued a direct challenge to the journalists: "never sell out your authority!"
The pontiff also took aim at practices that degrade the profession, specifically calling out "the misguided thinking that corrupts it, from unfair competition and from the degrading practice of so-called clickbait." He affirmed that news agencies are on the frontlines, tasked with uniting economic sustainability with the protection of the right to accurate information.
Guarding Against Totalitarianism and Algorithm Control
In a strong warning, Pope Leo XIV quoted the late political theorist Hannah Arendt, who warned that the "ideal subject of totalitarian rule" is one for whom the distinction between fact and fiction no longer exists. He stressed that through "patient and rigorous work," journalists can act as a crucial defense against this outcome.
The Pope also addressed the emerging challenge of technology, particularly artificial intelligence and algorithms. While acknowledging their unprecedented speed in generating content, he called for vigilance, asking: "Who controls them?" He warned against allowing technology to replace human beings or letting control of information and algorithms fall into the hands of a few.
Honoring Courage and Calling for Freedom
In a moving segment, the Pope paid tribute to the reporters who risk and have lost their lives to cover conflicts in places like Gaza and Ukraine.
"If today we know what is happening... we largely owe it to them," he said, calling them victims of war and its ideology, which seeks to prevent journalists from doing their job.
He concluded by repeating his appeal for the immediate release of reporters who have been "unjustly persecuted and imprisoned for doing their job," asserting that "doing the work of a journalist can never be considered a crime, but it is a right that must be protected."
"Free access to information is a pillar that upholds the edifice of our societies, and for this reason we are called to defend and guarantee it," he concluded before imparting his blessing.
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