WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Pauline Hanson has demanded Apple remove LGBTQI apps from its app store.
OUR VERDICT
False. The story is fake, Senator Hanson has made no such demand.
AAP FACTCHECK - Pauline Hanson has not demanded that Apple delete LGBTQI applications from its app store, despite claims that are spreading widely across social media.
Senator Hanson has made no comments about removing apps and the quotes attributed to her have been faked in an apparent attempt to drive clicks to a third-party website.
The Facebook account behind the post, Swim Aquatics, has been the subject of several AAP FactCheck debunks previously.
"Pauline Hanson has demanded that Apple REMOVE ALL LGBT APPLICATIONS from the App Store in Australia," the page posted on December 7, citing ABC News.
"Hanson issued a highly controversial statement: 'If you claim to want EQUALITY like everyone else, then WHY do you need a PRIDE MONTH?
"It can create CONFUSION or influence young children who don't understand yet'."
The quotes attributed to the senator have been fabricated.
There's no record of ABC News reporting anything about Senator Hanson calling for Apple to remove apps, nor any announcement from her official channels.
Swim Aquatics, which is operated from Vietnam, was the subject of an AAP FactCheck debunk in October over false claims about Australia's elite swimmers.
Since then, the page has pivoted to focus on political disinformation, featuring Senator Hanson in particular.
AAP FactCheck previously debunked widely shared political disinformation from the page, along with similar Facebook pages called Swim Hub and Super Swimming.
Other Vietnam-based pages with similar branding have also begun posting Australian political disinformation, including Swim The World and Swimming Times.
The posts typically direct users to an external website for more details.
Posts in recent days have typically focused on Senator Hanson, but also feature former opposition leader Peter Dutton and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
They often take real news and present fake developments or fabricated quotes to fool users into believing a controversy is unfolding.
For example, one post on December 8 cites the government's social media ban for those under 16 and Sydney schools banning smartphones in classrooms.
Both are actual government policies, but the post then claims the prime minister has urged people to limit phone charging to save electricity.
It then introduces Senator Hanson, who purportedly said Mr Albanese wants people "to suffer".
"Live frugally and use long-battery phones to limit charging that consumes electricity," the post claims Mr Albanese said.
"But Mrs Hanson added fuel to the fire when she said 'he wants the people to suffer but he himself…'." the post continues.
Both the quotes are fake. There is no record Mr Albanese or Senator Hanson said those things.
A similar post claims Mr Albanese called Senator Hanson a "foolish reactionary" over criticism about Labor's recent deal with the Greens to reform environmental laws. Once again, the quote is fabricated.
Another post claims Mr Albanese has spoken out about the arrival of so-called "ISIS Brides" in Australia and has criticised Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.
"It was him who approved it and secretly brought those people into the country; I don't know what happened," the post quotes the prime minister as saying. This quote is also fake.
Another post claims Senator Hanson announced plans to take the prime minister to the High Court over the "ISIS Brides".
"'Anthony Albanese and Tony Burke have been covering up for TERRORIST forces…" the post quotes Senator Hanson as saying.
She hasn't declared plans to take Mr Albanese to the High Court and the quote attributed to her is fake.
Another post claims Senator Hanson broke down in tears as she responded to being suspended from the Senate over wearing a burqa on the floor of parliament.
It claims she also said she has evidence that could cost Mr Albanese his job.
In the linked story, it is claimed the prime minister threatened to expel her from the country.
Again, the quotes are fake and a picture on the post showing an emotional Senator Hanson is taken from a 2019 appearance on A Current Affair.
Another post focuses on communications and sports minister Anika Wells, who is currently facing scrutiny over a series of expenses.
In the linked "news story" it is claimed she responded to criticism from Senator Hanson with a statement, concluding: "This is what I deserve."
The story and quotes are fabricated.
Another post targets Mr Dutton, claiming he criticised the prime minister over public debt and his wedding.
"People in our party are being forced to carry the debt on behalf of Anthony Albanese, yet he has no hesitation spending a few million dollars on his wedding beside his wife…" the post quotes Mr Dutton as saying.
It's also baseless.
Swim The World also recently posted a claim about Senator Hanson suing Mr Albanese that AAP FactCheck has previously debunked.
Swimming Times, meanwhile, has sought to tie elite athletes into the false claims about Australian politics, claiming in a recent post that swimmer Mollie O'Callaghan has supported Senator Hanson publicly and criticised US transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
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