Did the Pope really expose Trump’s old IQ test on TV? A closer look at the fake news

In 2026, a strange claim popped up online: Pope Leo XIV supposedly revealed Donald Trump’s IQ test results from Wharton School on live television. The post suggested Trump had scored exceptionally high, but the timing didn’t add up. Trump graduated from Wharton in 1968, meaning he would have been two years too old for the test touted in the rumor. The viral post pointed to a Facebook page called Issa, which shared the story multiple times. Some even linked to an external blog where supposedly more details were hidden. But digging deeper shows no reputable news organizations covered this supposed event. If it had happened, trusted outlets like AP or Reuters would have reported it immediately. That didn't occur.What’s more surprising is that the linked blog post itself looked suspicious. One odd detail stood out: the use of a Cyrillic letter instead of a normal "N. " Typos like that can be a red flag for AI-generated content. Tools like GPTZero also flagged the post as likely artificial intelligence-written. That raises questions about who made the story and why. The same Facebook page that spread this rumor also fabricated claims about actor Rowan Atkinson and late-night host Stephen Colbert having their test results revealed. This pattern suggests a clear strategy: creating sensational posts to pull in clicks and ad revenue. Fake news creators often rely on shared outrage or curiosity, driving traffic to websites filled with ads. Even AI detectors aren’t foolproof. While they can highlight suspicious text, they’re not perfect. Relying solely on technology to verify facts can be risky. Human judgment and cross-checking sources still matter.