Speech by Pope Leo XIV to journalists from news agencies

In an audience in the Vatican, held on October 9 with the directors of the main world news agencies, Pope Leo XIV condemned the clickbait and the manipulation of information.

Below is the Holy Father’s speech:

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Peace be with you!

Dear brothers, dear sisters, welcome, good morning everyone!

I address you with pleasure in these days, in which events urge discernment and responsibility, and the crucial role of the media in the formation of consciences and critical thinking is manifested.

We could define a paradox that in the era of communication, information and communication agencies are going through a period of crisis. And that information users are also in crisis, often exchanging what is false for what is true, what is authentic with what is artificial.

And yet, no one today should be able to say “I didn’t know.” This is why I encourage you in your service, so important; and I encourage moments of associative meeting, which allow you to reflect together.

Information is a public good that we must all protect. Therefore, what is truly constructive is the alliance between citizens and journalists under the sign of commitment to ethical and civil responsibility. One form of active citizenship is to esteem and support operators and agencies that demonstrate seriousness and true freedom in their work. Then a virtuous circle is verified that benefits the social body.

Every day there are reporters who risk their lives so that people can know how things are. And in a time like ours, of violent and diffuse conflicts, many lose their lives while covering news from the field: victims of war and of the ideology of war, which wants to prevent journalists from being there. We must not forget them! If today we know what has happened in Gaza, in Ukraine and in any other land bloodied by bombs, we owe it in large part to them. But these extreme testimonies are the peak of the tribute of daily fatigue of many who work so that the information is not contaminated by other purposes, contrary to the truth and the dignity of the person.

As you know, in my first meeting with journalists from around the world, just after the Conclave, I wanted to launch my call for the release of their colleagues unjustly persecuted and imprisoned for having tried to tell stories. I reiterate this request today. Doing journalism can never be considered a crime, but rather a right to protect.

Free information is a pillar that supports the construction of our societies and, therefore, we are called to defend and guarantee it.

As emphasized by the Papa Francisco“we need brave entrepreneurs, brave computer engineers, so that the beauty of communication is not corrupted” (Address to participants in the Communication Jubilee, January 25, 2025). It is necessary to free communication from the cognitive contamination that corrupts it, from unfair competition, from the degradation of the so-called clickbait. Press agencies are on the front line, and must act in the current communication context according to principles – unfortunately not always shared – that combine the economic sustainability of the company with the protection of the right to correct and plural information.

Journalists from press agencies, for their part, are called to be the first to arrive and to be the first to break the news. And this is even more true in the era of permanently live communication, of the increasingly invasive digitalization of the media. Those who work for an agency, as they know well, are called to write quickly, under pressure, also in very complex and dramatic situations. All the more reason, your service is precious and should be an antidote to the proliferation of “junk” information; Therefore, it requires competence, courage and a sense of ethics.

We are not meant to live in a world where truth is no longer distinguishable from fiction. In this regard, we must ask ourselves some important questions.

Algorithms generate content and data in a dimension and with a speed that has not been seen before. But who governs them? Artificial intelligence is changing the way we inform ourselves and communicate, but who guides it and for what purposes? We must ensure that technology does not replace the human being, and that the information and algorithms that govern it today are not in the hands of a few.

Dear friends, thank you for your work. Congratulations on your reflection on the challenges ahead.

The world needs free, rigorous, objective information. It is worth remembering, in this circumstance, Hannah Arendt’s warning, according to which “the ideal subject of the totalitarian regime is not the convinced Nazi nor the convinced communist, but the person for whom there is no longer a difference between reality and fiction, between the true and the false” (The origins of totalitarianism).

With your patient and rigorous work, you can be a barrier against those who, through the ancient art of lying, aim to create confrontations to rule by dividing; a bulwark of civility against the quicksands of approximation and post-truth.

The economy of communication cannot and should not separate its destiny from sharing the truth. Transparency of sources and ownership, accountabilityquality, objectivity are the keys to returning citizens to their role as protagonists of the system, convincing them to demand information worthy of this name. I recommend: never sell your authority!

May the Spirit of God, who is truth and strength and instills meekness and courage, sustain you. And my blessing be with you. Thank you.