WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Senator Mehreen Faruqi criticised Anzac Day and the Australian flag in X posts.
OUR VERDICT
False. The posts are from a parody account.
AAP FACTCHECK - Fake posts from an X account impersonating Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi are being shared online as if they are authentic.
Many posts are inflammatory and criticise Australia, national holidays and symbols, but the quotes attributed to Senator Faruqi are not real.
The X account posted a screenshot of a fake quote attributed to the Greens politician calling for Anzac Day to be cancelled.
"Why are Anzac lives so special? Are their sacrifices somehow worth more than Muslim soldiers dropping dead in Palestine every single day," said the quote, falsely attributed to the Greens senator.
"Ofcourse not. It's time to smash the rotten colonialist chains of Anzac Day to pieces and replace it with a Global Fallen Soldiers Day that finally honours my people too."
Some Facebook posts have shared screenshots of the parody X post with abusive comments towards the senator.
"This is from greens senator Mehreen Faruqi. This THING, is in our Federal Parliament and hates everything about our values and traditions," a caption said.
Another Facebook post shared the screenshot claiming: "Here is a prime example of how multiculturalism has failed Australia."
While the X post's profile picture is identical to Senator Faruqi's official X profile, the username - GreensAU2 - is different.
The GreensAU2 account is named "Australian Greens (Parody)" and its X bio states: "Australia's most anti-Australia political party. We literally hate you. Parody account."
The X handle of the parody account in the screenshot features a grey government checkmark, which is also present on Senator Faruqi's authentic account as she is a member of parliament.
This suggests the image was digitally altered rather than being a post from the parody account.
Another fake quote posted by the parody account in July 2024 claims to show Senator Faruqi calling the Australian flag "revolting".
"As a brown, female, Muslim, cis/neo-terrorist of colour from Pakistan, I find the Australian flag completely revolting," it claims she said.
"It doesn't represent me or my values. It's high time we had a national conversation about banning this archaic relic of white supremacy."
Senator Faruqi issued a statement on Facebook confirming the posts were not from her account or made by her.
"For a few months now, far-right wing 'parody' accounts on X have been impersonating me and doctoring fake quotes, posts and headlines to whip up hate and clickbait," she wrote.
"These posts are now being shared as 'true' statements.
"It's very obvious that these posts are not from my account. In fact, I don't even use X anymore."
The last post from Senator Faruqi's official X account was made in November 2024.
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.
