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James McManagan

Parody account targeting Albanese deceives with sharia law post

A parody X post is being shared as if it's an official statement from Anthony Albanese. (AAP/Facebook)

What was claimed

Anthony Albanese said he’s proud to see Australian girls learning about sharia law as an example of an inclusive society.

Our verdict

False. The claim originates from a parody account on X.

AAP FACTCHECK - Anthony Albanese did not say "young Australian girls" learning about Islamic sharia law is part of an inclusive society, despite claims online.

The quotes falsely attributed to the prime minister are from a parody X account, and Mr Albanese has not made any official statements about sharia in the run-up to the May 3 election.

Anthony Albanese outside an early polling place.
Anthony Albanese has not made any official statements about sharia during the election campaign. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)

The claim appears in a Facebook post featuring a screenshot of what is misrepresented as a tweet from Mr Albanese speaking in support of girls learning about sharia, or Islamic law.

“I am proud to see young Australian girls visiting a mosque to learn about Sharia law. This is the inclusive Australia we’re building,” the text of the tweet said.

However, the X account in the post, @AlboisPM, labels itself as "Australian Labor Parody".

The account's bio section also clearly says "Fake Prime Minister of Australia" and "Unauthorised by Anthony Albanese."

The original X post, which can be traced back to the fake Albo account, clearly shows the full handle, which discloses the account is not that of the real prime minister.

The word 'parody' has been cropped from the screenshots of the X post being shared on Facebook.

The Koran at a mosque in Melbourne.
Sharia derives from Islam's holy book, the Koran (Con Chronis/AAP PHOTOS)

A video attached to the original X post is a clip from the SBS documentary "The Mosque Next Door."

The footage shows a Brisbane imam talking about sharia to a group of girls in school uniform.

“In The Mosque Next Door, a local imam breaks down misconceptions about Sharia and what it really means for Australian Muslims,” SBS Australia says in its description in the Instagram post.

A search of the prime minister's official media site did not surface any record of Mr Albanese mentioning "sharia" or "Islamic law."

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.

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