Trend archive · March 2023

The Pope in a puffer jacket, the AI image that fooled people in March 2023

Updated 2026-11-06 · Remake the Trend

In March 2023 a picture of Pope Francis in a long white puffer coat went round the internet, and a lot of people believed it. It was made with Midjourney by a 31-year-old construction worker from the Chicago area who, in his words, "just thought it was funny to see the Pope in a funny jacket". It's remembered as one of the first AI images to fool people at scale. This page is its history; we don't make pictures or videos of public figures.

In brief

When: Made on Friday 24 March 2023; viral that weekend.
Made with: Midjourney, an AI image generator.
Where: A Facebook group for AI art, then Reddit, then X and the news.
Why it matters: One of the first AI images many people took for a real photo.

Who made the Pope puffer jacket image?

A man who gave his name as Pablo Xavier, 31, a construction worker in the Chicago area, told BuzzFeed News he made the first three images around 2 pm on the Friday before the interview, which ran on 27 March 2023. He posted them in a Facebook group called AI Art Universe and then on Reddit. He said he'd started using Midjourney after his brother died, and that he usually tries to make something funny.

Why did people believe it?

It looked like a street photo, the subject was famous and the idea was just plausible enough. Chrissy Teigen was among those who said they had taken it for real.

What changed afterwards?

That same week Midjourney stopped its free trials, citing "a combination of extraordinary demand and trial abuse"; its founder said this wasn't because of the viral fakes. The creator himself told BuzzFeed it was "definitely scary" that people thought it was real and that public figures "might be the line".

Could you make it here?

No: we don't accept photos of public figures, and every video here is labelled AI-generated. The trends below are fashion and red-carpet moments you can do with your own photo.