WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Anthony Albanese said he's proud to preference the Greens.
OUR VERDICT
False. Fake quotes have been overlaid on screenshots of the prime minister speaking.
AAP FACTCHECK - Fake Anthony Albanese quotes about a Labor preference deal with the Greens are being shared on social media as if they're authentic.
The fabricated quotes appear as subtitles under screenshots of the prime minister speaking in Adelaide, but there is no record of him discussing such a deal at the event.
The claim appears in a Facebook post that includes three photos of the PM speaking at an event.
"We're proud to say, we will preference the Greens… and we're grateful they have preferenced us…" the image captions read.
"... they stand for a lot of what I believe in."
There is no evidence that Mr Albanese said this in the context of the photos.
However, above the photos, the user sharing the post wrote "#NAILED IT!!!...A VOTE FOR #LABOR, IS A VOTE FOR #BANDT AS DEPUTY PM!!!"
The post also features an image of Greens leader Adam Bandt, Senator Mehreen Faruqi and candidate for Fowler Avery Howard.
One photo features a sign that reads 'Vote 1 Greens Do it for Palestine,' but it is a doctored version of an image the Greens candidate posted on Instagram.
It also shows a hammer and sickle in the logo, which the authentic Greens logo does not have.
The photos of Mr Albanese used in the post are from a Sky News Australia YouTube video recorded two months ago.
The clip is a recording of the PM speaking at the Adelaide Advertiser's Future South Australia Forum on February 21, 2025.
Nowhere in the video or the official transcript did he mention the Greens or preference deals.
Preferential voting in Australian elections means that voters number candidates in order of preference on the ballot paper.
Candidates must receive a majority of votes to be elected; however, if this is not achieved on the first count, preferences are redistributed until one receives a majority.
Preference deals occur when political parties agree on where to number each other's candidates on how-to-vote cards.
Labor has directed voters to preference the Greens second in many seats, and AAP FactCheck has confirmed this includes Mr Albanese's division of Grayndler.
However, this is not the case in every electorate; Labor how-to-vote cards are preferencing all sitting teal independent MPs above the Greens.
Labor MP John Burns also chose to run on an open ticket instead of preferencing any of his rivals.
The Greens have directed voters to preference Labor above the Liberals.
But the party has not directed voters to preference Labor first in several marginal seats such as Canning, Curtin, Cowper, Deakin, Gilmore, Lyons, Menzies and Wentworth.
In the Senate race, the Greens have instructed voters to preference Labor third in the Northern Territory, fifth in South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT, and sixth in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia.
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.
