Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Photo of Little Girl With Down Syndrome & the Pope: The Story You Heard Isn't True

Photo of Little Girl With Down Syndrome & the Pope: The Story You Heard Isn't True
Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images

The photograph on its own was charming. Pope Francis stood reading, presumably a sermon, to a room full of unseen spectators, with a small child, a young girl with Down Syndrome, dressed in blue and sitting to his right, her hand in his.

The story that accompanied the pic when it was first spotted on Reddit was even sweeter—A girl with Down syndrome reportedly had gotten up during a regular papal service and walked toward Pope Francis. Security men quickly moved in to take her back to her mom but the Pope had stopped them, inviting her to "come sit next to me." The was also shared on Twitter. No matter the platform—it was a lie.



But within a couple of hours, the people of Twitter, who had no doubt been informed by those on Reddit, alerted us all to the deception:


On Reddit, the original post has since been deleted; on Twitter the poster has yet to even respond to those who commented that his post was erroneous. But here's the REAL story—the little girl in the photo is an athlete with the Special Olympics who was invited for a special audience with the Pope along with other athletes.

According to a press release on SpecialOlympics.org dated October 13, 2017:

Each Special Olympics athlete present at the audience had the opportunity to meet with Pope Francis. But it was a younger athlete, four-year-old Gemma Pompili from Rome, who captivated the Pontiff.
Gemma was invited to present Pope Francis with a pair of red Special Olympics branded sports shoes. Gemma, who is part of the Special Olympics Young Athletes programme in Italy, where athletes with intellectual disabilities are introduced to sport and play from the age of two, was subsequently invited to sit beside His Holiness for the duration of the audience event, a rare honor for any invitee.

So, now there it is, the truth is out.

The craziest thing about all of this is that the picture and the real story are compelling enough—which begs the question: What was the point of fabricating something else?







More from Trending

Donald Trump
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump Blasted For Announcing New Additions To The White House Lawn As Global Tensions Escalate

President Donald Trump was criticized after announcing that two new flagpoles would be added to the North and South Lawns of the White House—not the greatest look amid heightened global unease as tensions between Israel and Iran ramp up.

According to the Associated Press, Trump watched as a crane installed the newest flagpole on the South Lawn, remarking, “It’s such a beautiful pole.” He later returned to the site to salute as the American flag was raised for the first time.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Donald Trump from CNN supercut
CNN

Trump Mocked For 'Two Weeks' Iran Deadline With Supercut Of All His 'Two Weeks' Promises

President Donald Trump has a history of promising to resolve problems within "two weeks," and a new viral supercut mocks him for all the times he's said as much—including right now with tensions in the Middle East higher than ever.

Trump said Thursday he will decide within two weeks whether to involve U.S. forces directly in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, citing what he called a “substantial chance” for renewed nuclear negotiations with Tehran.

Keep ReadingShow less
red flag with pole on seashore
Seoyeon Choi on Unsplash

People Break Down The 'Silent Red Flags' Folks Tend To Ignore In Relationships

A red flag has come to mean any warning sign in life, in addition to the literal red flags that are placed on beaches or industrial sites to warn people of danger.

People will respond to situations by saying, "That’s a red flag." But before that language evolved, they'd just call them "warning signs."

Keep ReadingShow less
Ted Cruz; Tucker Carlson
The Tucker Carlson Show

Tucker Carlson And Ted Cruz Get Into Shouting Match Over Iran In Bonkers Interview Clip

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz—a harsh Donald Trump critic-turned-MAGA minion—sat down with fired Fox News personality Tucker Carlson for the conservative influencer's self-produced online content,The Tucker Carlson Show, for the Tucker Carlson Network.

On Tuesday, Carlson shared a 1.5-minute clip revealing that things got contentious when the pair touched on the Trump administration's escalating tensions with Iran.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Barack Obama
Suzanne Plunkett-Pool/Getty Images; Scott Olson/Getty Images

Resurfaced Trump Tweet Criticizing Obama Over Iran Comes Back To Bite Him

Amid tensions with Iran, President Donald Trump was criticized for hypocrisy after social media users resurfaced a 2013 tweet in which he accused former President Barack Obama of planning an attack on Iran because of his "inability to negotiate properly."

Trump has declined to clarify whether the U.S. is edging closer to launching strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, following a warning from Iran’s supreme leader against any attack and a rejection of Trump’s demand for surrender.

Keep ReadingShow less