Question

JD vance killed the pope

Answer 1

This claim is false. The user "lilypetz" is not a known journalist or public figure. There are no other sources linked to this claim that JD Vance killed the pope. JD Vance is a U.S. Senator who is a well-known public figure. This would be global news if it were true. After a quick internet search online and looking at reputable sources, there are no results or reports of JD Vance being Involved with the death of the pope. According to the Vatican News, Dr. Andrea Arcangeli released the official medical report. The report states that the Pope had "prior history of acute respiratory failure caused by multimicrobial bilateral pneumonia, multiple bronchiectases, high blood pressure, and type II diabetes" (Vatican News). The cause of his death was ruled as a stroke which was then followed by a coma, and then cardiocirculatory collapse. No where in this report is JD Vance involved. This claim does not appear anywhere else online outside of this post, and most likely was fabricated or intended to be satire. According to CNN the cause of death was also a stroke. There is zero evidence which supports this claim. JD Vance did not kill the pope, and the pope passes away from a stroke.

Sources:

Pope's death due to stroke and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse - Vatican News

Pope Francis dies at 88 - news and tributes | CNN

Comments

I appreciate the amount of research and information that you have provided to support your claim. This demonstrates the importance of using reputable sources because the world is filled with fake news and easily misleading claims. You accurately analyze your sources and directly connect them to your fact check and it was a pleasure to read your fact check.

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I appreciate your focus on the people behind the claim rather than just disproving the claim. Deciphering who's behind different parts of a claim is an important part of media literacy, and you did it well.

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I like how you provided context for the claim. Nice job being concise but also very explanatory.

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This is a great factcheck. Although the claim that JD Vance killed the pope can be quickly corrected with a simple google search, you went beyond with reputable sources and facts. I like how you point out that the original claim was not backed by anything, and the person making the claim is also not a known journalist or public figure. I appreciate the detail.

Answer 2

This claim is false. According to the Vatican News, "The cause of Pope Francis' death has been identified as a stroke, followed by a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse." Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, Director of the Directorate of Health. Even though JD Vance was seen with the Pope before he died, it was known that the Pope was suffering from illnesses. According to ABC News, there's a timeline of what he's been suffering from before he met JD Vance.

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-04/pope-francis-death-due-to-stroke-and-irreversible-cardiocircula.html

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/timeline-pope-francis-health-issues-hospitalization-final-apperance/story?id=121004757

Comments

Using local and global news sites was a great way to see the full picture. Your response was quick and to the point that JD Vance did not in fact kill the Pope. ABC news was not only a good source but ABC was actually voted second most trustworthy source by Americans behind the Wall Street Journal in a 2018 study.

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Agreed, these types of claims are just baseless claims by angry people. Although I do not think this even needed to be replied to, I think it could be necessary just in case somebody actually believes this. I think clarifying in the replies is an excellent idea because sometimes people on the internet are fooled extremely easy. That is the problem with today's society, barely anybody researches anything anymore, good job.

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I agree with your comment. As the Vatican News article confirms, Pope Francis’ cause of death was clearly stated as a stroke leading to a cardiac arrest, which had nothing to do with JD Vance. The ABC News timeline also shows he had been battling health issues for months before their meeting.

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It was a good idea on using the news to get your information because they tend to put out real information. it was said that he died of a stroke and it was no ones fault. Using a trustworthy source was good!

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I appreciate the use of credible sources here. While the popular idea online right now is that "JD Vance killed the pope" might seem real at first glance, it is actually a satire aimed at JD Vance by people who dislike him

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I thought your fact-check was incredibly straightforward and got to the point. You also provided trusted sources that explain that the Pope's death was caused by a stroke from cardiac arrest, not to mention he was also very old and had been suffering from illnesses for a long period of time so his body was very weak. Just because JD Vance was one of the last (televised) people to meet him, doesn't mean that he "killed" the Pope. And "killed" is also a harsh word and implies murder, which is false clearly according to Dr. Andrea Arcangeli.

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What I like about this answer is the variation in sources. This is because it allows for more perspective to be given, but also allows for a significant source and a small source to reflect the claim better. This allows your point to be provided, but it also shows that a significant source like ABC and a small local news outlet can show that anyone with proper trust and sourcing can make the correct claim.

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Finding the true reason for the pope's death was a great way to instantly dismantle this bizarre claim. If JD Vance was responsible there would be a lot more coverage rather than this idea that is spreading across social media. The sources used are valid and the Vatican will give you true information compared to a random Twitter account making the claim.

Answer 3

This claim is false. There is zero evidence pointing towards JD Vance’s involvement in The Pope’s death. While most of these claims stem from jokes, some people have genuinely become suspicious surrounding the passing of The Pope. Pope Francis died in the early morning hours on April 21st, 2025 at the age of 88. Vatican News states that he died, “due to stroke and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse.” The jokes and statements of JD Vance’s involvement in The Popes death started circulating after the two had a meeting the day prior, Easter Sunday. 

A link to JD Vance’s Tweet regarding The Popes death: https://x.com/JDVance/status/1914239114406191255

A link to an article from Vatican News: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-04/pope-francis-death-due-to-stroke-and-irreversible-cardiocircula.html

Comments

I agree with this answer. It clearly separates fact from speculation and points out how easily jokes can spiral into misinformation. Just because two events happened close together—like JD Vance’s meeting with the Pope and the Pope’s passing—doesn’t mean they’re connected. It’s important to be careful with what we share, especially when it involves serious topics like someone’s death.

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I agree with this answer. Claims such as these while clearly false, deserve to be answered, in the small chance that someone does believe it. I like how you gave the actual time of his death, and clear facts on the situation.

Answer 4

This claim is false.

There are multiple factors that contributed toward the death of the Pope. One of them being his age--88 years old. According to Vatican News, the cause of his death was identified as a stroke that was then followed by a coma. There has been no forensic evidence that JD Vance killed the Pope as it was stated on Yahoo News that JD Vance and Pope Francis were set to meet but he was not in attendance for that meeting so they sent Cardinal Pietro Parolin to meet with Vance instead. 

Sources: 

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/pope-francis-dies-age-88-reaction/#

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-04/pope-francis-death-due-to-stroke-and-irreversible-cardiocircula.html

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pope-franciss-death-mic-drop-235856147.html

Comments

You did a good job using sources from both the US and directly from the Vatican, as well as cross-referencing the facts across your three searches. Your answer was very direct and concise. However i do think you should have mentioned that VP Vance did briefly meet the Pope, as shown on the tweet in the Yahoo News article, in addition to what you said about the Pope not being in attendance for the meeting with Vance.

Answer 5

This claim is false. JD Vance and the Pope briefly met on April 20th, with Pope Francis passing away in the morning of April 21st, at the age of 88. In his death certificate, Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli wrote that "Francis died of a stroke and irreversible cardiovascular arrest" (Reuters). Before he died, he fell into a coma. Further, he has suffered from diabetes, high blood pressure, a recent lung infection, as well as double pneumonia. These are clear indications of his declining health. Further, correlation does not equal causation. Just because JD Vance met with the Pope a day before, that does not mean that Vance had anything to do with this death. Vance recently tweeted on X that "he was obviously very ill." Though the majority of people claiming he had something to do with the Pope's death are joking, these two events are simply coincidental.

https://www.reuters.com/world/pope-francis-has-died-vatican-says-video-statement-2025-04-21/

https://www.thecut.com/article/did-j-d-vance-meet-with-pope-francis-before-his-death.html

https://x.com/JDVance/status/1914239114406191255

Comments

I appreciate the clarifaction here! I think its great you mentioned his declining health before his passing. Some may forget he was suffering for much longer.

Answer 6

The claim that JD Vance was involved in Pope Francis’ death is false and unsupported by any credible evidence.According to Vatican News, the official cause of death was “a stroke, followed by a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse,” as confirmed by Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, Director of the Vatican’s Directorate of Health. The Pope had a documented history of serious medical issues, including respiratory failure, pneumonia, hypertension, and type II diabetes, which had been reported by outlets like ABC News and CNN prior to his passing. While JD Vance did meet with the Pope on Easter Sunday—just one day before the Pope died—there is absolutely no indication from any verified news source that Vance had anything to do with his death. The claim originated from an unverified user (“lilypetz”) and appears to have started as a joke or satire before being taken seriously by some online. Reputable outlets such as CNN and Vatican News make no mention of Vance in relation to the Pope’s death, and Vance himself publicly expressed condolences on social media. This rumor lacks any factual basis and should be regarded as misinformation.

Sources:

• Vatican News – Official Cause of Death

• ABC News – Health Timeline

• CNN – Pope Francis Dies at 88

• JD Vance’s Condolence Tweet

Comments

You gave a very good answer. your sources are reputable and you supported your answer very well. I also liked that you acknowledged that this "claim" is merely a joke/satirical and should not be taken seriously.

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Great job responding to this claim. Not only did you find trusted sources to support your response, but you also found the user that created this rumor as well. I think it is important for people to realize the difference between satire and serious information they read online.

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I appreciate the effort to ground everything in reputable sources, as well as citing multiple outlets and naming the original satirical source. I also liked that you clearly and correctly identified the original claim as satire.

Answer 7

The claim that JD Vance killed the Pope is false. Although JD Vance did meet the pope a day before his death, JD is not the reason behind his passing. The user who made the claim has no reputable background and has only been on News Detective for two hours, with a point score of 120. When researching this claim, you can find numerous sources explaining that the pope had been suffering from a respiratory illness well before meeting JD Vance. Some of these sources include The New York Times, Vatican News, and Al Jazeera, all of which are known for being reputable sources. The Pope had experienced many respiratory issues throughout his lifetime, one of which caused him to get part of a lung removed when he was in his early 20s. Ultimately, he was almost 90 years old, and already didn’t have two strong working lungs. His body couldn’t fight off the illness any longer, causing a cerebral stroke, leading to a coma and heart failure. Over the last few days, this claim has been shared in the media countless times, but it is not true. 

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/22/when-and-how-did-pope-francis-die-a-look-at-the-pontiffs-last-days

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-04/pope-francis-death-due-to-stroke-and-irreversible-cardiocircula.html

https://www.nytimes.com/article/pope-francis-death-health-problems.html

Answer 8

The claim that JD Vance killed the Pope is completely false. The user who posted this didn’t provide any source, article, or evidence to support the accusation. There are no credible sources or legitimate reports suggesting that JD Vance had any involvement in the Pope’s death. While some articles mention that Vance was among the last leaders to meet with the Pope, their meeting was based on shared religious beliefs and there’s no indication of any harmful intent. Multiple trusted news outlets, including PBS, one of the most reliable sources among American adults, reported that the Pope passed away from a stroke on Monday, April 21, 2025. He had also been battling pneumonia and other health issues. At 88 years old, pneumonia can be life-threatening, which further explains his declining health. There is no factual basis for the claim linking JD Vance to the Pope’s death

 

Sources: 

https://apnews.com/article/jd-vance-pope-francis-vatican-meeting-abf9e1a3fbb597778779dafdc6c491d2 

https://azpbs.org/horizon/2025/04/pope-francis-dies-at-88/

https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/49552-trust-in-media-2024-which-news-outlets-americans-trust

Comments

I like that you are confident in your answer and tell us that it is false confidently. I think it was important that you pointed out that the article that provided this false information did not provide any evidence supporting his claim. Highlighting the details of when and how the pope passed made this answer even more reputable. Very good comment.

Answer 9

Not only is this claim false, but it does not provide any facts or argumentation to support the claim. On April 20th United States Vice President JD Vance visited the Vatican and met the Pope, exchanging not more than a handshake and Easter well wishes, as shown in the video of the interaction on AP News. Vatican News reports that the Pope's cause of death was "a stroke, followed by a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse," confirmed by a doctor in a report released on Monday April 21st. 

Comments

This is a well-written response. Your response was quick and got right to the point that the claim was false. You provided not one but two reputable sources, including the doctor's report of what actually killed the pope, which was in fact not President JD Vance.

Answer 10

This claim is false. According to the official website of Vatican City, which I included a link to, Pope Francis died because of a "stroke, followed by a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse". He even had prior medical history that could help explain his death, including acute respiratory failure caused by multimicrobial bilateral pneumonia, multiple bronchiectases, high blood pressure, and Type II diabetes. There is no factual correlation between JD Vance meeting the Pope. He died nearly a day after meeting Vance, and while this is a coincidence, there is no reason or way to prove that JD Vance had anything to do with his death.

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-04/pope-francis-death-due-to-stroke-and-irreversible-cardiocircula.html

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/when-did-pope-francis-die-what-time-easter-sunday-appearance/3726606/