The Vatican said that it is seeking answers from Instagram after the pope’s official Instagram account liked a photo of a scantily clad Brazillian model. 2020, huh?
Last week it was reported that Pope Francis’ verified Instagram account, @franciscus, had liked a post from model and Twitch streamer Natalia Garibotto.
The image posted on October 7 depicts Garibotto posing as a school girl retrieving books presumably from her locker, clothed in a school uniform so small that it’s unlikely to be a real uniform.
It’s not clear when the account had first liked the photo, but it was unliked by the following day.
Since then, the Vatican has confirmed it has contacted the social media company to get an explanation for how this happened.
So did the Holy See himself succumb in a moment of weakness and accidentally fave Garibotto’s post while scrolling through the feed, much like China’s ambassador to the U.K. did recently?
Well, here’s the case against that possibility:
The Catholic News Agency reported that “sources close to the Vatican press office” had confirmed that Pope Francis does not administer the account himself. Apparently, there’s a team of staff members who run his account.
Confusingly, neither the Pope nor Garibotto follow each other on Instagram. In fact, the @franciscus doesn’t follow a single other Instagram account.
So while others wait for an answer on this — as it perhaps some kind of miracle? Impossible to say! — Garibotto’s team has seized the opportunity.
Her management firm posted the image again on their Instagram after the revelation with “COY Co. has received the POPE’S OFFICIAL BLESSING thanks to our iconic queen @nataagataa ???? Legend has it, Pope Francis is subscribed under a pseudonym,” the caption reads.