Jibi MosesJune 18, 2025
A post being widely shared on social media, mainly WhatsApp, is making the rounds with the image of the new catholic Pope (Pope Leo XIV) claiming the pope is offering everyone 20 GB for celebration is a hoax.
‘The Catholic Charities Organisation Partners With All Network Providers Gifts Free 20GB Internet Data To Everyone To Celebrate The Emergence Of The New Pope. Dont missout Tap the link below to get yours’. States the advert; a link is then attached at the end.
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On clicking the link, one is welcomed to a website homepage with a bigger image of the Pope. The image itself is on Amazon.com, with more logos of MTN, Africell and Airtel. They further instruct one to enter one’s mobile number to redeem the data; however, they further direct an unsuspecting user to share the information with six (6) WhatsApp groups and fifteen (15) individuals to reclaim the data.
In addition, the post also uses the name and symbol of the Catholic Charities, a faith-based organisation that supports a national network of agencies committed to encountering those along the margins, regardless of their faith.
However, the claim was suspicious, prompting The Clarity Desk to investigate.
Debunking the Claim:
A Google search of the keyword ‘Catholic Charities Organisations’ returned many results, with the main being Catholic Charities USA, with a clear description of activities, among which sharing data is none of them.
In addition, we scanned the link on VirusTotal, a free online service that analyses suspicious files and URLs to detect malware and other threats using multiple antivirus engines and website scanners, and the six antivirus engines flagged the link as malicious and with malware.
These are phishing links initiated to lure individuals to give away their Personal information
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We searched for the suspicious link domain through Whois.com to establish its origin, and we found that the domain was registered in March 2025; meanwhile, the Catholic Charities organisation was first created in 1996 with different other characteristics like the web host and location.
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Verdict:
The ClarityDesk has established that the link making the rounds in WhatsApp groups and private chats claiming that the new pope is giving 20 GB free data to everyone is false. This is a scam embedded with malicious links that are intended to steal people’s personal information.
Have you spotted an error in this article and would like to request a correction, or have you come across a claim that we should investigate? Please send us an email via editor@claritydesk.org or click here to WhatsApp us.
The ClarityDesk
