Similar claims that Australia had signed a treaty with the WEF that would shutter major banks were shared elsewhere on Facebook by users based in Australia as well as in neighbouring New Zealand.
Comments on the posts indicated that some users believed the claim.
“When did we vote for this,” read one comment.
Another said: “Whereas the People didn’t signed (sic) any of the above. The Treasonous POLITICIANS (PARASITES) who think can do whatever they like. They CAN’T!!!”
But the Australian government has not signed a WEF treaty to close all banks.
Non-existent ‘treaty’
A WEF spokesperson told AFP: “We can confirm that there are no agreements or arrangements in place between the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Australian government regarding transitioning to a cashless society or the closure of banks.”
“Like many high-profile organizations and individuals, the World Economic Forum has been the subject of a rise in conspiracy theories, misinformation, and disinformation,” the spokesperson added on April 10.
A spokesperson from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade separately told AFP on April 4: “The claim that Australia has signed a treaty with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to close all major banks and switch to a fully cashless society is false.”
A search of the department’s Australian Treaties Database also did not turn up any treaties with the WEF as described in the false posts (archived link).
Further keyword searches found that while the Australian government has worked with the WEF on several projects, including sustainable food systems and trade, there were no official reports about a purported deal to close banks (archived links here and here).
According to a speech given by Michele Bullock, governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), at parliament on February 9, the use of cash has declined in Australia but the central bank remained committed to providing “good access to cash” (archived link).
“The RBA places a high priority on the Australian community continuing to have good access to cash withdrawal and deposit services,” she said.
AFP previously debunked a similar misleading claim that the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) was scrapping its ATMs and going cashless, which circulated after its subsidiary Bankwest announced it was going to become a digital bank.
This transition was also mentioned in The People’s Voice article attached to the false post, but Bankwest said its customers could continue to use cash services at post offices and get cash from CBA’s network of teller machines.