Pope Francis has condemned what he described as a universal growth in “fake news” and how such deliberate distortions foment a climate of hate that leads to acts such as the assassination attempts against US President-elect Donald Trump and Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia.

His comments came in his annual speech to members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, which this year occurred on 9 January, and in which the Pope lamented “the continuous creation and spread of fake news distorts facts but also perceptions”.