What was claimed
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he received a congratulatory call from World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab on the passing of new digital ID laws.
The verdict
False. The claim originates from a parody X account.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been congratulated by World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab on the passing of the country’s digital ID laws, social media users have claimed.
This is false. The claim comes from a parody account on X (formerly Twitter) satirising Mr Albanese.
“This morning, I received a call from Klaus Schwab. He expressed his congratulations on the successful passing of our digital ID legislation,” the parody account posted on May 18.
“Mr Schwab acknowledged our forward-thinking approach and the leadership we have shown in driving these advancements.”
The X account is titled “Anthony Albanese. Australian Labor Parody”. However, many clearly did not get the joke.
“This says it all,” one Facebook user captioned a screenshot of the parody post. “Bl***y Hell,” posted another.
The parody account has 9.8K followers and has been the source of misinformation previously, including this suggestion the prime minister had declared free speech a “dangerous tool”.
Mr Albanese’s genuine X account has 747K followers.
Dr Schwab is a regular target for conspiracy theories, as is the new digital ID legislation.
According to Australia’s federal government, the legislation will allow people to verify their identity online without having to repeatedly provide copies of sensitive documents such as passports, birth certificates and driver’s licences.
The laws build on the existing myGovID, which is currently used by more than 10 million Australians to access government services.
Conclusion
The claim that Anthony Albanese said he had received a congratulatory call from World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab on the passing of new digital ID laws is false.
The claim has come from a parody account on X (formerly Twitter) satirising Mr Albanese.
False. The claim is inaccurate.
