VATICAN CITY Pope Francis warned yesterday of the dangers of misinformation and its spread via social media and artificial intelligence ( AI ), cautioning it could be "misused to manipulate minds." In his traditional New Year's address to diplomats at the Vatican, Francis lamented the increasing polarization of society, "aggravated by the continuous creation and spread of fake news, which not only distorts facts but also perceptions." "This phenomenon generates false images of reality, a