What was claimed
Anthony Albanese is listed among TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2026.
Our verdict
False. Mr Albanese was not included in the 2026 list.
AAP FACTCHECK - TIME’s 2026 list of the most influential people in the world did not include the Australian prime minister, despite claims online.
Anthony Albanese does not appear in the list and images appearing to show him on the magazine's cover were generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
The claim was made by multiple Facebook pages, including several operated from Vietnam.
The posts typically include a fake TIME magazine cover featuring an image of Mr Albanese and a text overlay that reads “Top 100 most influential people of 2026”.
“BREAKING NEWS: Anthony Albanese has just been honored by TIME magazine, named among the 100 most influential figures in the world - a recognition that celebrates his transformative leadership and global impact as Prime Minister," one such post reads.
It then encourages readers to click through to an external website that's laden with advertisements and includes more false claims.
The ‘TIME100’ list of the world’s most influential people in 2026 was revealed in a TIME media release on April 15 that described the nominees as “the leaders, innovators, and changemakers who are redefining the future”.
The 2026 list featured numerous political leaders from around the world, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
US President Donald Trump also appeared on the 2026 list, along with Californian Governor Gavin Newsom, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Mr Albanese was not on the 2026 list, though he was on the 2023 list.
The magazine covers used to spread the false claim appear to be AI-generated.
AAP FactCheck found three different versions of the fabricated TIME cover that supposedly featured the Australian prime minister.
In one version, the star-like logo of Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, is visible in the bottom-right corner.
The genuine TIME100 issue of the magazine has four worldwide covers, each featuring a different person from the 2026 list: actress Zoe Saldana, comedian Nikki Glaser, actor Wagner Moura and singer-songwriter Luke Combs.
AAP FactCheck is an accredited member of the International Fact-Checking Network. To keep up with our latest fact checks, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, BlueSky, TikTok and YouTube.
