Pope Francis calls Covid-19 fake news a violation of human rights

While the church hasn’t always been on the same side as science, Pope Francis spoke out strongly against vaccine disinformation and Covid-19 fake news. In a statement Friday, he condemned any news source, including Catholic news media, that perpetuated misinformation about the pandemic, calling it a violation of human rights.

In a talk with members of a group of Catholic media members behind the website CatholicFactChecking.com which combats misleading information, the Pope called it an infodemic, where people driven by fear peddle distorted or made-up news and try to claim false information is scientific.

“To be properly informed, to be helped to understand situations based on scientific data and not fake news, is a human right. Correct information must be ensured above all to those who are less equipped, to the weakest and to those who are most vulnerable. Fake news has to be…