As royals, presidents and lots of of hundreds of Catholic trustworthy headed to Rome following Pope Francis’s dying, a video was shared in social media posts that falsely claimed it confirmed individuals paying their respects to the favored Argentine pontiff. The clip the truth is exhibits a conventional procession held throughout Holy Week in Malaga, in southern Spain, days earlier than the Catholic Church’s 88-year-old chief died.
“Hundreds of Catholics from world wide gathered to pay their respects to Pope Francis,” reads the Indonesian-language caption of a TikTok video shared on April 24, 2025.
The video exhibits dozens of individuals in white robes carrying a big float down a road lined with onlookers.
“Goodbye to the chief of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis,” reads textual content superimposed on the clip.
Screenshot of the false TikTok submit, captured on April 29, 2025
The video emerged after Pope Francis died of a stroke, inflicting a coma and “irreversible” coronary heart failure, in accordance with his dying certificates launched by the Vatican on April 21 (archived link). The 88-year-old Catholic chief had spent 5 weeks within the hospital, the place he practically succumbed to double pneumonia.
His coffin was transferred for 3 days of lying in state at St Peter’s Basilica, the place tens of hundreds of mourners paid their final respects, forward of his funeral on April 26 (archived here and here).
The identical video was additionally shared alongside related claims on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
However it doesn’t present mourners paying their respects to Pope Francis.
A reverse image search on Google utilizing keyframes from the falsely shared video led to the similar footage shared on TikTok on April 16 — 5 days earlier than Francis died (archived link).
Based on the submit, the video exhibits a procession throughout Holy Week within the southern Spanish metropolis of Malaga.
Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday — which this yr fell on April 13 — when Christians bear in mind Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem adopted simply days later by his trial, crucifixion and dying by the hands of the Romans, and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.
In Spain, the week is characterised by dozens of parades that includes elaborate floats topped with life-sized statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary accompanied by lots of of penitents, who historically put on flowing robes and have their heads lined by distinctive pointy hoods (archived link).
Screenshot comparability of the falsely shared video (left) and the TikTok clip from April 16 (proper)
The float — topped with a life-sized statue of the Virgin Mary — was paraded by Malaga on April 15, and may be seen in protection of the day’s occasions streamed by native broadcaster Canal Malaga RTV (archived link).
Options within the falsely shared video correspond to Google Avenue View imagery of an space close to the Malaga Museum (archived link).
Screenshot comparability of the falsely shared video (left) and Malaga Museum as seen on Google Avenue View (proper), with corresponding options highlighted by AFP
Furthermore, a clear pyramid seen later within the falsely shared video is Malaga’s Pirámide de Cristal or Glass Pyramid (archived link).
Screenshot comparability of the falsely shared video (left) and Pirámide de Cristal as seen on Google Avenue View (proper), with the pyramid highlighted by AFP
AFP has debunked different misinformation associated to the dying of Pope Francis here, here and here.
