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The image was generated by artificial intelligence.
In June 2026, an image circulated online supposedly showing the Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny eating lunch with Pope Leo XIV.
Social media users posted the image on Threads, X and Instagram. Snopes readers contacted us to ask whether it was authentic or a digital creation.
This image is fake. The word, “Duas,” on the fake Bad Bunny’s shirt pocket led us to the Instagram account of DUAS Madrid, a café in Spain. DUAS Madrid posted the image (archived) with a caption that included, “#AI,” a reference to artificial intelligence.
Instagram also has voluntary AI info labels available in the app that users can add to images. Clicking on the “Madrid, Spain” location above the image opened an option to see “AI info.” That pop-up indicated that the account “added an AI label to this content.”
We reached out to the account on Instagram to ask what AI program they used to generate the image and await a response.
DUAS Madrid appeared to have created the image for marketing purposes, as the caption of the image said, “Madrid, if you’re in town for the celebrations this weekend, you know where to find us.”
Leo arrived in Madrid for a papal visit on June 6, the same day DUAS Madrid posted the image. Reputable news outlets, including CNN and the New York Times, said Leo actually did meet Bad Bunny, who at the time of this writing was on tour in Madrid, but that the Vatican had not released any images of the brief encounter. Furthermore, reports said the actual meeting happened on June 8, two days after the image was posted.
A search of the official Vatican News website for “Bad Bunny” returned no results as of this writing.
The image posted by DUAS Madrid also had other indicators it was AI-generated. For example, zooming in on Bad Bunny’s left arm and right fingers showed jewelry that the AI program failed to properly generate.
Furthermore, Bad Bunny’s actual tattoos did not match the tattoos shown in the AI-generated image. Deformities also appeared near Leo’s glasses and around the small table by Leo.
(Instagram user @duas.madrid, illustrated by Snopes)
Snopes has previously fact-checked similar images, such as one allegedly showing Bad Bunny burning an American flag onstage ahead of the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show.
DUAS Madrid. Instagram. 6 June 2026, https://www.instagram.com/p/DZQBd8ECDYj/.
Horowitz, Jason. “Pope Leo Meets Bad Bunny.” New York Times, 9 June 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/09/world/europe/pope-leo-bad-bunny.html.
Lamb, Christopher. “The Pope Met Superstar Musician Bad Bunny but Didn’t Provide Photos (Sorry).” CNN, 10 June 2026, https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/10/europe/pope-leo-meets-bad-bunny-spain-intl.
Lopez, Julyssa. “Bad Bunny Conquered the World. Now What?” Rolling Stone, 21 June 2023, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/bad-bunny-coachella-el-apagon-controversy-future-interview-1234770225/.
Pope Leo Kicks off Apostolic Journey to Spain – Vatican News. 6 June 2026, https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-06/pope-leo-kicks-off-apostolic-journey-to-spain-lands-in-madrid.html.
Search – Vatican News. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/search.html. Accessed 12 June 2026.
Rae Deng specializes in government/politics and is based in Tacoma, Wash.
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