Photos of Australian $10 banknotes have been shared multiple times on Facebook and Twitter alongside a claim that the note features images representing coronavirus and the billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates.
The caption states: “What’s bill gates and the Corona virus doing on Australian 10 dollar note. And many will just blow this off.. Wake up, it’s been planned for years. Anyone promoting vaccines should not be trusted. They will sell you a sweet story on one hand whilst promoting something you don’t want on the other.”, A similar claim was also shared here and here on Facebook., A similar claim was\xa0published here, here and here\xa0, stating the $10 note is “new”, and that it presents proof COVID-19 is a “Plandemic”, referring to a viral video with falsehoods about the novel coronavirus that AFP debunked here., The claims are false., The $10 banknote is not new; it was released in September 2017, according to the website of Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)., The golden circular illustration highlighted in the misleading posts is one of the security features on the banknote, according to a\xa0RBA spokesperson., In an email to AFP on May 20, they said: “One of the features referred to is the rolling colour effect. The feature appears on each denomination of the Next Generation Banknotes series, with a different type of wattle depicted in the design on each banknote. In this instance, the design framing the feature is a designer’s interpretation of Bramble Wattle (Acacia victoriae). You can see the Bramble Wattle in various places on the banknote, including the top-to-bottom window, the fluorescent feature and the rolling colour effect.”, Bramble Wattle is a shrub or tree native to Australia., The image of a person on the note is not Bill Gates. It shows\xa0Australian writer Mary Gilmore. A caption for the image on RBA’s website states: “PORTRAIT OF GILMORE AT HER DESK / This image is based on a 1952 photograph sourced from the Herald and Weekly Times Limited portrait collection, Pictures Collection, State Library of Victoria.”, Below is a screenshot comparison of the image in the misleading post (L) and the $10 note on the RBA\xa0website (R):, , Copyright © AFP 2017-2020.  All rights reserved.  Users can access and consult this website and use the share features available for personal, private, and non-commercial purposes.  Any other use, in particular any reproduction, communication to the public or distribution of the content of this website, in whole or in part, for any other purpose and/or by any other means, without a specific licence agreement signed with AFP, is strictly prohibited.  The subject matter depicted or included via links within the Fact Checking content is provided to the extent necessary for correct understanding of the verification of the information concerned.  AFP has not obtained any rights from the authors or copyright owners of this third party content and shall incur no liability in this regard.  AFP and its logo are registered trademarks.
Hoax circulates that Australian $10 notes feature images of coronavirus and Bill Gates | AFP Fact Check