The medieval world had its own ‘deepfakes’ – church officials cited a fake imperial decree for centuries

The Conversation · 🇦🇺 public Australia · Sep 24, 2026 · 1152 words · By Vanessa Corcoran

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What to know about The medieval world had its own ‘deepfakes’ – church officials cited a fake imperial decree for centuries

The article discusses the historical precedent of misinformation by examining the 'Donation of Constantine,' a forged document used by the medieval church to justify territorial power. It details the document's eventual debunking by Renaissance scholars like Lorenzo Valla through textual criticism and anachronism analysis.

Propaganda risk 10%

Claims checked 17

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center86%

Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

With deepfakes on the rise, forgery and deception are often viewed as distinctly modern problems – a new era of misinformation made possible by artificial intelligence.

Why it matters

One of the first alarming cases occurred at the start of the war in Ukraine when a doctored video appeared to show President Volodymyr Zelenskyy telling his soldiers to lay down their weapons.

Common ground

Yet the impulse to deceive people by fabricating evidence far predates the digital age.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: The medieval world had its own ‘deepfakes’ – church officials cited a fake imperial decree for centuries?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Around 1450, English Bishop Reginald Pecocke made a similar case to discredit it, arguing that the word “fief” was anachronistic?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/the-medieval-world-had-its-own-deepfakes-church-offi…

analyticsAnalysis

10%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 17 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 7

info Single Source 4

check_circle Corroborated 4

verified Verified 1

verified Verified By Reference 1

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Claim 1: “Around 1450, English Bishop Reginald Pecocke made a similar case to discredit it, arguing that the word “fief” was anachronistic.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “The story is also found in the “Acts of Sylvester,” a fifth-century collection about the pope’s life.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific mention of the 'Acts of Sylvester' as a 5th-century collection is found in the cross-reference, but other web results mention a 'Life of Blessed Sylvester' from the early 6th century, creating a slight discrepancy in dating/naming.

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web search NEUTRAL — However, Constantine did indeed give great gifts to the Church during St. Sylvester’s pontificate, including the building of many of Rome’s great churches—the original St. Peter’s Basilica, St. John L…
https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/sylvester-and-con…

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web search NEUTRAL — Together Constantine and Sylvester began the process by which Rome was transformed from a pagan imperial capital into a Christian shrine. Sylvester was the subject of an early sixth century legendary …
https://www.deseret.com/2019/10/25/20928912/william-hamblin-…

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web search NEUTRAL — It is addressed by Constantine to Pope Sylvester I (314-35) and consists of two parts. In the first (entitled "Confessio") the emperor relates how he was instructed in the Christian Faith by Sylvester…
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05118a.htm

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 3: “Charlemagne’s father, Pepin the Short, had granted the church sovereignty over what became known as the Papal States, a group of territories on the Italian peninsula.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including Wikipedia and web search results, confirm that Pepin the Short granted land/sovereignty to the papacy, establishing the Papal States (Donation of Pepin).

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web search NEUTRAL — During Stephen's pontificate, Rome was facing invasion by the Lombards when Stephen II went to Paris to seek assistance from Pepin the Short. Pepin defeated the Lombards and made a gift of land to the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Stephen_II

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web search NEUTRAL — Pépin the Short was a significant historical figure who became king of the Franks in the 8th century.His legacy continues to be debated among historians, particularly regarding the implications of his…
https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/pepin-short

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web search NEUTRAL — Pepin the Short granted the Papal States to the pope in 754 AD in a historical event known as the Donation of Pepin. This donation was made in exchange for the pope's support of Pepin's kingship and t…
https://brainly.com/question/39734825

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 4: “In “De concordantia catholica,” or “The Catholic Concordance,” Nicholas calls attention to the fact that no fourth-century documents speak specifically about the transfer of temporal power to the pope.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 5: “In 778, Pope Adrian I wrote to Charlemagne, king of the Franks”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific detail that Pope Adrian I wrote to Charlemagne in 778 is only found in the cross-reference. Other sources confirm both figures existed and interacted, but not this specific letter in that specific year.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Charlemagne ( SHAR-lə-mayn; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian Empire from 800. He united…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Pope Adrian I (Latin: Hadrianus I; 700 – 25 December 795) was the bishop of Rome and leader of the Papal States from 1 February 772 until his death on 25 December 795. Descended from a family of the m…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Adrian_I

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Pope Leo III (Latin: Leo III; died 12 June 816) was bishop of Rome and leader of the Papal States from 26 December 795 to his death on 12 June 816. Protected by Charlemagne from the supporters of his …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_III

+ 4 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “Lorenzo Valla, an Italian humanist and Catholic priest, wrote the essay “Discourse on the Forgery of the Alleged Donation of Constantine.””

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 7: “He argued that the document was likely created by a Roman cleric between 750 and 850.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 8: “In 1433, Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa became the first person to publicly speculate that the Donation was a forgery.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 9: “In 1054, as the church split into two branches – the Eastern Orthodox and Western Roman Catholic Church – Pope Leo IX wrote a letter where he invoked the Donation by name for the first time.”

CORROBORATED

The claim is supported by a cross-reference and a web search result (VoodooEconomics) which explicitly states Pope Leo IX was the first to use the Donation for an official act in 1054.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Pope Leo IX was the first Pope to use the Donation for an official act and assured the Patriarch that the Donation was genuine. According to the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia (Vol. 5, p. 120)
https://www.economicsvoodoo.com/tag/schism-1054/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The Donation of Constantine (Latin: Donatio Constantini. ) is a forged Roman imperial decree by which the 4th-century emperor Constantine the Great supposedly transferred authority over Rome and the w…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donation_of_Constantine

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web search NEUTRAL — The infamous Donation of Constantine was a medieval deepfake, and 10 popes used it to expand their domain.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a73974644/medieval-…

+ 1 more evidence source

verified

Claim 10: “The text describes Constantine, the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, falling ill from leprosy.”

VERIFIED

The claim is supported by a cross-reference and the general context of the Donation of Constantine (which describes Constantine's healing by Pope Sylvester). Wikipedia confirms Constantine was the first emperor to convert to Christianity.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Constantine I (27 February 272 – 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a pivotal role…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_the_Great

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Donation of Constantine (Latin: Donatio Constantini) is a forged Roman imperial decree by which the 4th-century emperor Constantine the Great supposedly transferred authority over Rome and the wes…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donation_of_Constantine

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Donation of Constantine or Donation of Rome is a painting by assistants of the Italian renaissance artist Raphael. It was most likely painted by Gianfrancesco Penni or Giulio Romano, somewhere bet…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Donation_of_Constantine_(p…

+ 4 more evidence sources

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Claim 11: “Throughout the Middle Ages, at least 10 popes cited the same fraudulent claim, which asserted that Emperor Constantine I had transferred authority over Rome and the Western part of the Roman Empire to Pope Sylvester I in the early 300s.”

CORROBORATED

The claim is corroborated by a web search result explicitly stating that at least 10 popes cited the fraudulent claim and by Wikipedia confirming the nature of the Donation of Constantine.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Donation of Sutri was an agreement reached at Sutri by Liutprand, King of the Lombards and Pope Gregory II in 728. At Sutri, the two reached an agreement by which the city and some hill towns in L…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donation_of_Sutri

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 12: “Not until the turn of the 17th century, however, after the work of cardinal and historian Caesar Baronius, was it universally acknowledged to be a falsified text.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 13: “By the 14th century, the Donation of Constantine was so widely known that Dante Alighieri referenced it within his “Divine Comedy,””

SINGLE SOURCE

This specific claim is only supported by the provided cross-reference; no external web or Wikipedia results were provided to corroborate the reference in the Divine Comedy.

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cross reference SUPPORTS — By the 14th century, the Donation of Constantine was so widely known that Dante Alighieri referenced it in his "Divine Comedy"
https://phys.org/news/2026-09-medieval-world-deepfakes-churc…

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Claim 14: “The “Divine Comedy” places Pope Nicholas III in the eighth circle of hell for the sin of simony”

SINGLE SOURCE

This specific claim regarding Pope Nicholas III and simony in the Divine Comedy is only supported by the provided cross-reference.

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cross reference SUPPORTS — The "Divine Comedy" places Pope Nicholas III in the eighth circle of hell for the sin of simony
https://phys.org/news/2026-09-medieval-world-deepfakes-churc…

verified

Claim 15: “there are no references that even allude to the existence of this document until the eighth century.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided web search results for this claim are irrelevant (referencing the Beastie Boys), and the Wikipedia entries for the Donation of Constantine do not explicitly state that there are 'no references' prior to the 8th century, although they mention it emerged in the 8th or 9th century.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Constantine the Great's (272–337) relationship with the four Bishops of Rome during his reign is an important component of the history of the Papacy, and more generally the history of the Catholic Chu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishops_of_Rome_under_Constant…

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 16: “One of the first alarming cases occurred at the start of the war in Ukraine when a doctored video appeared to show President Volodymyr Zelenskyy telling his soldiers to lay down their weapons.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources confirm that a deepfake video of President Zelenskyy telling soldiers to surrender appeared at the start of the war in Ukraine.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 20 May 2019, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was inaugurated as the sixth president of Ukraine, commencing his first and currently only term, which is still ongoing due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inauguration_of_Volodymyr_Zele…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Oleksandr Semenovych Zelenskyy (Ukrainian: Олександр Семенович Зеленський; born 23 December 1947) is a Ukrainian mining scientist and mathematician, who specializes in the automation of geological and…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleksandr_Zelenskyy

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 17: “Before becoming pope himself, Pius II wrote an unpublished text in 1453 acknowledging that the Donation was likely a forgery.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.