Fact Check: Viral image of symbolic BRICS currency shared with misleading claims

Hyderabad: On October 23, prime minister Narendra Modi and Chinese president Xi Jinping held their first bilateral discussions in five years during the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia. The summit, held from October 22 to 24, has drawn close attention from global analysts, as it aimed to address key discussions on reshaping the global financial system and considering alternatives to the US dollar.

Amid these discussions, a photo has gone viral, claiming to show a new unified currency for the BRICS nations. An X user shared the image with the caption, “New Banknote of the single #BRICS Currency.” (Archive)

The image featured a currency note with a 100-unit face value. It bears the flags and official languages of BRICS member countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—and showcases a cultural landmark associated with each nation. On the reverse side, flags and names of additional BRICS+ member and candidate countries, such as Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Belarus, Venezuela, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nigeria, and the former flags of Bangladesh and Afghanistan, are displayed.

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Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim was false. The image showed a symbolic BRICS currency that has no monetary value.

A reverse image search of the currency note led to an X post from September 6, 2023, captioned, “Russian ambassador unveiled BRICS currency in a symbolic move. At a ceremony to celebrate the UAE's admission to BRICS+ in South Africa, the Russian ambassador gifted a symbolic BRICS currency to the UAE ambassador."

This indicated that the concept of a symbolic currency model was not new.

Further, we also found a report by the Financial Express, dated October 24, 2024. It was titled ‘BRICS Unveils Symbolic Banknote, Pushes for Local Currency Trade Amid Dollar Debate.’

The report included a photo of Russian president Vladimir Putin holding the same symbolic banknote during the Kazan summit. The report said, “At the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, a symbolic BRICS banknote was unveiled, igniting discussions on reshaping global finance. The banknote, which features the flags of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, symbolizes the collective ambitions of these nations to explore alternatives to the US dollar in cross-border transactions.”

Quoting Putin, the report said the BRICS nations are considering alternatives to the US dollar to strengthen financial autonomy. However, he emphasised that BRICS is not entirely rejecting the dollar but is looking to reduce over-reliance on it due to its potential use as a political instrument. This stance is seen as a preparatory measure, should access to the US dollar become restricted.

Additionally, we found an X post by BRICS News on October 23, 2024, which shared photos of Putin holding the mock-up note with a caption that said Putin was gifted a mock-up of a ‘BRICS bill’ at the BRICS summit in Kazan.

The symbolic nature of the currency was confirmed by several media reports like Times Now and The Economic Times, which confirmed that the note was merely a representation of BRICS’ economic vision and not an actual currency.