Churches across the United States are dealing with a new kind of grift. It’s one that targets those of faith: AI-generated Deepfakes of pastors asking their congregations for money.
The technology has gotten so good that scammers don’t need to skim off the top of a collection plate. They just need a trusting, familiar face. The most common targets of this new scam are pastors with large online followings. Their fame and constant media presence make for dupes.
According to a Wired report, Catholic priest Father Mike Schmitz, who has more than a million YouTube subscribers, recently had to warn followers about fake videos featuring his likeness. Some of the clips are subtle enough to pass the eye test at a glance, or if you just don’t know what to look for, as some older churchgoers might be.
The point of it all isn’t to corrupt faith. The point is to execute a pure brazen cash grab.
Deepfake AI Pastors Are Here
In the videos, fake pastors ask viewers to pay for blessings, donate to special causes, or secure spots on church trips. Churches asking for money is par for the course; hence, a video of a pastor asking for cash isn’t so unusual as to trigger alarms.
It’s all well within the wheelhouse of your average pastor, and in the way your average pastor does it in the digital age.
Ministers from Alabama to Florida have had to issue public warnings telling parishioners that videos circulating online aren’t actually them. An atmosphere of suspicion is seeping into church life as believers now have to question whether their pastor is speaking as themselves or if it’s some anonymous scam artist trying to prey on their faith.
Even the Vatican is wary. The newly elected Pope Leo XIV has warned that AI threatens human dignity, justice, and labor. It’s a rare moment when God’s emissary on Earth, according to Catholics at least, warns people of the uses and abuses of software.
But that is the modern day in a nutshell. Faith is sacred to many, which is exactly why scammers will always find an easy target in the faithful. All it takes is a few clicks and some easily attainable software.
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