Pope Leo asks media to show suffering of war, not amplify 'propaganda'

Reuters · Joshua McElwee · last updated March 16, 2026 – 6:58 AM

Pope Leourged journalists on Monday to highlight the suffering caused by war, cautioning against news reports that risk sliding into propaganda by ‌glorifying conflicts or serving as “a megaphone” to amplify the voices of those in power.

In a meeting with broadcasters from Italy’s TG2 television news programme, the pope made a direct appeal for reporters “to show the face of war and tell ⁠it through the eyes of the victims, so as not to turn it into a video game.”

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