Trolling the New "Woke, Marxist, Commie Pope!" My Analysis Shows How X Privileges MAGA Rage at New Pope
The backlash against Pope Leo XIV on X was fuelled almost entirely by MAGA supporters and talking points, who rapidly framed his election as part of a broader "woke" agenda.
The election of Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV on May 8, 2025, triggered an immediate and intense reaction on the platform X (formerly Twitter). To understand how the early discourse evolved, I analyzed approximately 7,313 tweets directed at his account (@drprevost) during the first 24 hours. By categorizing the responses by sentiment and tracking engagement metrics, I mapped the dominant narratives and identified coordinated attacks. The findings reveal that a small number of conservative influencers rapidly framed the pope through the lens of U.S. culture wars, with right-wing talking points — particularly accusations of “wokeness” and anti-Trump sentiment — generating disproportionately high levels of engagement compared to supportive or neutral commentary.
To understand the immediate online reception to the election of Robert Prevost (Pope Leo XIV), I analysed approximately 7,313 tweets directed at his account (@drprevost) during the first 24 hours following his announcement on May 8, 2025. My aim was to identify the dominant narratives, patterns of trolling, and broader sentiment dynamics shaping public discourse around his appointment.
I manually categorized the tweets into six groups:
Complimentary (positive praise)
Congratulatory (formal celebration)
Critical – Conservative (right-leaning ideological criticism)
Critical – Liberal/Progressive (left-leaning criticism)
Other / Meme / Ambiguous (jokes, memes, unclear sentiment)
Sexual Abuse / Cover-Up (references to Church scandals)
The analysis includes posts in all languages, but only those tweets that directly tagged @drprevost
I then analyzed the volume, timing, and cumulative engagement (impressions, retweets, and favorites) across these categories to map the contours of the emerging conversation.
Tweet Volume at Pope Leo XIV
This graph shows the volume of tweets reacting to the Pope’s announcement over time, broken down by sentiment category. Activity peaked sharply in the first hour after the announcement on May 8, 2025, driven mostly by memes and ambiguous posts (yellow) alongside a noticeable wave of conservative criticism (purple). After the initial surge, tweet volume declined steadily but continued at a low, persistent rate into the early hours of May 9. Supportive and congratulatory posts (blue and light blue) remained consistently smaller across the entire period.
The Pope Haters
A closer look at the early high-impact tweets reveals just how rapidly and effectively conservative influencers framed the Pope’s announcement. Within minutes, figures like Laura Loomer and Jack Posobiec laid into the new Pope, labeling the new Pope as a "woke Marxist," "anti-Trump," and a "puppet’ of the left. They seemed triggered by the Pope’s concern for immigrants and his criticism of JD Vance’s interpretation of love. Their posts weren't just rhetorical — they achieved massive reach. Loomer's "WOKE MARXIST POPE" tweet alone garnered over 11 million impressions, while several other posts from Loomer, Posobiec, and aligned accounts like truesalzac generated hundreds of thousands to millions of impressions each.
MAGA Criticism Drove the Pope’s Announcement Discourse
Despite the broader flood of replies — including memes, jokes, and supportive messages — it was this handful of high-profile attacks that dominated the early discourse. The framing wasn’t theological or global; it was deeply partisan, mapping the Pope onto American culture war flashpoints like immigration, race, "wokeism," and loyalty to Trump. The language was aggressively emotional, designed to provoke anger and fear rather than discussion. Ultimately, the data shows that a small number of influencers successfully weaponized outrage to seize attention — setting the tone for how millions encountered the news.
This bar chart shows the total engagement — combining impressions, retweets, and favorites — for different types of tweets reacting to the Pope’s announcement. Conservative criticism dominated overall engagement, accounting for over 21 million cumulative interactions. This was four times higher than the next largest category (memes and ambiguous posts at 5.2 million) and nearly seven times greater than complimentary posts (3 million). Congratulatory posts, progressive criticism, and references to sexual abuse cover-ups made up only a small fraction of the total engagement.
When analyzing the reaction to the new Pope’s announcement, one thing stood out clearly: conservative criticism wasn’t just loud — it was the most viral force in the conversation. Although "Critical – Conservative" tweets numbered 1,871, not dramatically more than the 849 "Complimentary" or 1,018 "Congratulatory" tweets, they generated far greater engagement. Conservative critical tweets averaged 10 retweets and over 11,000 views per post, while complimentary posts averaged just 2 retweets and 3,500 views per post, and congratulatory posts only 1 retweet and 430 views per post. In total, conservative criticism drove over 21 million impressions, compared to around 3 million for complimentary posts and 430,000 for congratulatory ones — an overwhelming difference.
Meanwhile, supportive comments about the Pope were widely liked — boasting the highest favorites per tweet (64 faves per tweet) — yet were far less likely to be shared or amplified. Progressive criticism and posts raising issues like sexual abuse cover-ups barely registered in terms of impressions or retweets. The data tells a clear story: in the fragmented attention economy of social media, anger — particularly conservative anger — remains the most contagious currency. Positivity garners applause; outrage fuels the algorithm.
Table of engagement metrics by category
The below graph shows the first two hours of responses
Each box represents a high-impression tweet criticizing the Pope — many calling him "woke," "Marxist," "anti-Trump," or "pro-open borders."
Some posts — notably by Laura Loomer and Jack Posobiec — achieved massive reach:
Loomer’s main attack tweet ("WOKE MARXIST POPE") alone reached 11.3 million impressions.
Another Loomer tweet hit 5.7 million impressions.
Other critical tweets (e.g., by truesalzac, seanmdav) also racked up hundreds of thousands of impressions.
Rapid Narrative Launch
Within minutes of the Pope’s announcement, a clear narrative — "woke Marxist anti-Trump Pope" — was aggressively seeded.
Key right-wing influencers (Laura Loomer, Jack Posobiec, etc.) appear synchronized or at least ideologically aligned to immediately frame him negatively.
Massive Disproportionate Impact
A few major nodes (accounts) generated the vast majority of early impressions.
Despite the volume of general reactions, just a handful of viral attacks shaped much of the discourse.
Framing the Pope in U.S. Culture Wars
Rather than focusing on Catholic doctrine or global significance, critics immediately mapped the Pope onto U.S. partisan battle lines: immigration, Trump loyalty, race politics (George Floyd), "wokeism."
Emotional and Culture War Language
The language ("career criminal," "fentanyl overdose," "woke ideology," "Marxist puppet") is designed to provoke anger and cultural fear rather than theological debate.
Indeed, while there were many critical tweets, in terms of engagement, Laura Loomer represented over 80% of total engagement - indicating how she drove a lot of the narrative, also pointing to the dominance of limited narratives.
Corpus and Discourse Analysis
The corpus analysis of all the approx. 1717 unique Critical-Conservative Tweets showed some interesting figures. Woke was the fifth most common word, after Vatican, Pope, Church and Catholic. Then it was Trump, then Jesus (one has to laugh at the order of these two). Also Immigration and 'Illegal’ 11th and 13th respectively.
The critical tweets directed at the new pope overwhelmingly revolve around a few dominant and repetitive themes. Chief among them is the accusation that the pope is "woke." Variations on this insult, such as "woke pope," "woketard," and "woke clown," are pervasive throughout the corpus, reflecting a deep hostility toward what critics perceive as the pope’s progressive stance on social justice issues like immigration, race, and climate change. In these criticisms, "woke" functions as a shorthand for left-wing politics, moral decay, and betrayal of traditional Catholic values.
Closely tied to this is a heavy focus on immigration. A recurring trope in the tweets is the accusation that the pope supports “open borders” while hypocritically living behind the Vatican's fortified walls. Many users sarcastically urge the pope to "open the Vatican gates" and let in immigrants, positioning him as out of touch and deceitful. Migration is rarely discussed in humanitarian terms; instead, migrants are frequently described with dehumanizing language such as "invaders," "criminals," and "rapists," reflecting broader anxieties about national sovereignty and security.
The figure of Donald Trump, and to a lesser extent JD Vance, loom(er)s large in the discourse. Many tweets accuse the pope of being a “Trump hater” and contrast him unfavorably with Trump’s vision of strong borders and nationalism. Trump is frequently positioned as the true defender of Christian and Western values, while the pope is depicted as a traitor aligned with the far-left and the “globalist” agenda.
This political framing is further intensified by the frequent branding of the pope as a Marxist, Communist, or globalist. Critics argue that the Catholic Church has been "infiltrated" by progressive or New World Order ideologies, suggesting a sense of siege and decay from within. Some even associate the pope with the World Economic Forum or the “Deep State,” blending theological critique with conspiracy theory rhetoric.
Religious arguments underpin much of the criticism. Many tweets accuse the Pope of betraying biblical teachings, distorting Christianity to fit modern liberal sensibilities, and failing to uphold the Church's traditional moral authority. In these comments, there is often a call to return to an imagined purer past, with references to earlier popes like John Paul II as examples of true leadership.
Finally, there is a strong sense of disillusionment and personal betrayal. Some users openly declare that they have left the Catholic Church or are considering doing so (sure you did guys). Others express grief that the institution they once revered has, in their view, succumbed to political ideology and abandoned its spiritual mission. The emotional tone is often one of anger, sadness, and a perceived loss of identity.
Overall, the corpus reveals a highly polarized, emotionally charged backlash where the pope is not merely criticized but cast as a symbol of everything his critics believe is wrong with both the modern Catholic Church and the broader Western world.
An analysis of the bios spreading the Con-critical reveals that the most common shared biographical descriptor was MAGA, God, America, Con, and then Trump.
Overall, the immediate online response to Pope Leo XIV’s election was not merely polarized; it was actively weaponized. A small number of conservative influencers rapidly shaped the dominant narrative, mapping the papacy onto U.S. partisan battle lines and igniting widespread outrage that drowned out more supportive or theological reactions. This early narrative capture highlights how attention economies on platforms like X privilege emotional provocation over substantive discourse — with potentially lasting impacts on public perceptions of religious leadership.
Data gathering: Data was collected through manual capture of public tweets directed at @drprevost between May 8 and May 9, 2025, and supplemented with platform-provided engagement metrics (impressions, retweets, and likes).To understand the immediate online reception to the election of Robert Prevost (Pope Leo XIV), I analyzed approximately 7,313 tweets directed at his account (@drprevost) during the first 24 hours following his announcement on May 8, 2025. My aim was to identify the dominant narratives, patterns of trolling, and broader sentiment dynamics shaping public discourse around his appointment.
I manually categorized the tweets into six groups:
Complimentary (positive praise)
Congratulatory (formal celebration)
Critical – Conservative (right-leaning ideological criticism)
Critical – Liberal/Progressive (left-leaning criticism)
Other / Meme / Ambiguous (jokes, memes, unclear sentiment)
Sexual Abuse / Cover-Up (references to Church scandals)
The analysis includes posts in all languages, but only those tweets that directly tagged @drprevost
I then analyzed the volume, timing, and cumulative engagement (impressions, retweets, and favorites) across these categories to map the contours of the emerging conversation.
Tweet Volume at Pope Leo XIV
This graph shows the volume of tweets reacting to the Pope’s announcement over time, broken down by sentiment category. Activity peaked sharply in the first hour after the announcement on May 8, 2025, driven mostly by memes and ambiguous posts (yellow) alongside a noticeable wave of conservative criticism (purple). After the initial surge, tweet volume declined steadily but continued at a low, persistent rate into the early hours of May 9. Supportive and congratulatory posts (blue and light blue) remained consistently smaller across the entire period.
The Pope Haters
A closer look at the early high-impact tweets reveals just how rapidly and effectively conservative influencers framed the Pope’s announcement. Within minutes, figures like Laura Loomer and Jack Posobiec launched a coordinated narrative, labeling the new Pope as a "woke Marxist," "anti-Trump," and a "puppet of the left." Their posts weren't just rhetorical — they achieved massive reach. Loomer's "WOKE MARXIST POPE" tweet alone garnered over 11 million impressions, while several other posts from Loomer, Posobiec, and aligned accounts like seanmdav and truesalzac generated hundreds of thousands to millions of impressions each.
Despite the broader flood of replies — including memes, jokes, and supportive messages — it was this handful of high-profile attacks that dominated the early discourse. The framing wasn’t theological or global; it was deeply partisan, mapping the Pope onto American culture war flashpoints like immigration, race, "wokeism," and loyalty to Trump. The language was aggressively emotional, designed to provoke anger and fear rather than discussion. Ultimately, the data shows that a small number of influencers successfully weaponized outrage to seize attention — setting the tone for how millions encountered the news.
See the below graph
Each box represents a high-impression tweet criticizing the Pope — many calling him "woke," "Marxist," "anti-Trump," or "pro-open borders."
Some posts — notably by Laura Loomer and Jack Posobiec — achieved massive reach:
Loomer’s main attack tweet ("WOKE MARXIST POPE") alone reached 11.3 million impressions.
Another Loomer tweet hit 5.7 million impressions.
Other critical tweets (e.g., by truesalzac, seanmdav) also racked up hundreds of thousands of impressions.
Rapid Narrative Launch
Within minutes of the Pope’s announcement, a clear narrative — "woke Marxist anti-Trump Pope" — was aggressively seeded.
Key right-wing influencers (Laura Loomer, Jack Posobiec, etc.) appear synchronized or at least ideologically aligned to immediately frame him negatively.
Massive Disproportionate Impact
A few major nodes (accounts) generated the vast majority of early impressions.
Despite the volume of general reactions, just a handful of viral attacks shaped much of the discourse.
Framing the Pope in U.S. Culture Wars
Rather than focusing on Catholic doctrine or global significance, critics immediately mapped the Pope onto U.S. partisan battle lines: immigration, Trump loyalty, race politics (George Floyd), "wokeism."
Emotional and Culture War Language
The language ("career criminal," "fentanyl overdose," "woke ideology," "Marxist puppet") is designed to provoke anger and cultural fear rather than theological debate.
Indeed, while there were many critical tweets, in terms of engagement, Laura Loomer represented over 80% of total engagement - indicating how she drove a lot of the narrative
Corpus Analysis
The corpus analysis of all the approx 1717 unique Critical-Conservative Tweets showed some interesting figures. Woke was the fifth most common word, after Vatican, Pope, Church and Catholic. Then it was Trump, then Jesus (one has to laugh at the order of these two). Also Immigration and 'Illegal’ 11th and 13th respectively.
The critical tweets directed at the new pope overwhelmingly revolve around a few dominant and repetitive themes. Chief among them is the accusation that the pope is "woke." Variations on this insult, such as "woke pope," "woketard," and "woke clown," are pervasive throughout the corpus, reflecting a deep hostility toward what critics perceive as the pope’s progressive stance on social justice issues like immigration, race, and climate change. In these criticisms, "woke" functions as a shorthand for left-wing politics, moral decay, and betrayal of traditional Catholic values.
Closely tied to this is a heavy focus on immigration. A recurring trope in the tweets is the accusation that the pope supports “open borders” while hypocritically living behind the Vatican's fortified walls. Many users sarcastically urge the pope to "open the Vatican gates" and let in immigrants, positioning him as out of touch and deceitful. Migration is rarely discussed in humanitarian terms; instead, migrants are frequently described with dehumanizing language such as "invaders," "criminals," and "rapists," reflecting broader anxieties about national sovereignty and security.
The figure of Donald Trump, and to a lesser extent JD Vance, loom(er)s large in the discourse. Many tweets accuse the pope of being a “Trump hater” and contrast him unfavorably with Trump’s vision of strong borders and nationalism. Trump is frequently positioned as the true defender of Christian and Western values, while the pope is depicted as a traitor aligned with the far-left and the “globalist” agenda.
This political framing is further intensified by the frequent branding of the pope as a Marxist, Communist, or globalist. Critics argue that the Catholic Church has been "infiltrated" by progressive or New World Order ideologies, suggesting a sense of siege and decay from within. Some even associate the pope with the World Economic Forum or the “Deep State,” blending theological critique with conspiracy theory rhetoric.
Religious arguments underpin much of the criticism. Many tweets accuse the pope of betraying biblical teachings, distorting Christianity to fit modern liberal sensibilities, and failing to uphold the Church's traditional moral authority. In these comments, there is often a call to return to an imagined purer past, with references to earlier popes like John Paul II as examples of true leadership.
Finally, there is a strong sense of disillusionment and personal betrayal. Some users openly declare that they have left the Catholic Church or are considering doing so. Others express grief that the institution they once revered has, in their view, succumbed to political ideology and abandoned its spiritual mission. The emotional tone is often one of anger, sadness, and a perceived loss of identity.
Overall, the corpus reveals a highly polarized, emotionally charged backlash where the pope is not merely criticized but cast as a symbol of everything his critics believe is wrong with both the modern Catholic Church and the broader Western world.
An analysis of the bios spreading the Con-critical reveals that the most commons hared biographical descriptor was MAGA, God, America, Con, and then Trump.
Conservative Criticism Drove the Pope’s Announcement Discourse
This bar chart shows the total engagement — combining impressions, retweets, and favorites — for different types of tweets reacting to the Pope’s announcement. Conservative criticism dominated overall engagement, accounting for over 21 million cumulative interactions. This was four times higher than the next largest category (memes and ambiguous posts at 5.2 million) and nearly seven times greater than complimentary posts (3 million). Congratulatory posts, progressive criticism, and references to sexual abuse cover-ups made up only a small fraction of the total engagement.
When analyzing the reaction to the new Pope’s announcement, one thing stood out clearly: conservative criticism wasn’t just loud — it was the most viral force in the conversation. Although "Critical – Conservative" tweets numbered 1,871, not dramatically more than the 849 "Complimentary" or 1,018 "Congratulatory" tweets, they generated far greater engagement. Conservative critical tweets averaged 10 retweets and over 11,000 views per post, while complimentary posts averaged just 2 retweets and 3,500 views per post, and congratulatory posts only 1 retweet and 430 views per post. In total, conservative criticism drove over 21 million impressions, compared to around 3 million for complimentary posts and 430,000 for congratulatory ones — an overwhelming difference.
Meanwhile, supportive comments about the Pope were widely liked — boasting the highest favourites per tweet (64 faves per tweet) — yet were far less likely to be shared or amplified. Progressive criticism and posts raising issues like sexual abuse cover-ups barely registered in terms of impressions or retweets. The data tells a clear story: in the fragmented attention economy of social media, anger — particularly conservative anger — remains the most contagious currency. Positivity garners applause; outrage fuels the algorithm. The algorithm may also be being manipulated that way by Musk.
Table of engagement metrics by category
Conclusion
Overall, the immediate online response to Pope Leo XIV’s election appeared to be deliberate MAGA fury to brand the new Pope as an enemy of Trump. A small number of conservative influencers rapidly shaped the dominant narrative, mapping the papacy onto U.S. partisan battle lines and igniting widespread outrage that drowned out more supportive or theological reactions. This early narrative capture highlights how attention economies on platforms like X privilege emotional provocation over substantive discourse — with potentially lasting impacts on public perceptions of religious leadership. Rage, anger, culture war content disproportionately gets engagement. Messages of trolling and outrage far outperformed those congratulating or complimenting the Pope.
Data gathering: Data was collected through manual capture of public tweets directed at @drprevost between May 8 and May 9, 2025, and supplemented with platform-provided engagement metrics (impressions, retweets, and likes).
I thought Loomer's reach had decreased after her disagreement with Musk. Looks like she may be back to normal?