After a group of women linked to Islamic State jihadists returned to Australia on May 7, posts falsely claimed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese restored "their previously cancelled citizenship". The women and their children are Australian citizens by law, which means they have the right to return home, according to the government. An international law expert told AFP the threshold to bar a citizen from returning home is very high and should be reserved only for "an exceptional measure".
"Albo (Albanese) gave them back their previously cancelled citizenship and cancelled passports. They are not Australians," reads the caption of an X post published on May 7, 2026.
The post also shares an image of a woman in a niqab -- a veil over the face worn by some Muslim women.
"These passports were fraudulently obtained. All nine of their children were born overseas, they are not Australians. Nor are the women," adds the user, who frequently writes anti-government posts that have been previously fact-checked by AFP.
Similar posts also appeared elsewhere on X and on Facebook, where they were shared in anti-Labor Party groups.
Hundreds of women from Western nations were lured to the Middle East as the Islamic State group gained prominence over a decade ago, in many cases following husbands who had signed up as jihadist fighters.
On May 7, 2026, four women and their nine children returned to Australia for the first time after allegedly sneaking into Syria in the early 2010s (archived link...
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