Fact Check

'Welcome to Australia'

A photograph purportedly showing a "Welcome to Australia" sign was digitally altered.

Published April 17, 2016

 (wikipedia)
Image Via wikipedia
Claim:
A photograph shows a "Wecome to Australia" sign informing immigrants that they have to work to earn money.

In April 2016, an image began making the rounds on social media that purportedly showed a sign in Australia which read:

Welcome to Australia. You will be required to get a job and work if you want money. A good lifestyle is not free.

While the image (which quickly went viral) was frequently circulated along with the claim that it showed a real sign in Australia, this is not an official sign, and the photograph has been doctored.  The original image was posted on the "Freedom Of Speech Productions" Facebook page on 10 April 2016.

FOSP is a conservative Facebook page affiliated with the Australian Tea Party. It states in its "About" section that it uses "humorous artistic pieces" to "expose the vile and delusional left-wing agenda":

This page was created from a politically artistic view of the Labor, Greens and left-wing movement. Freedom Of Speech Productions has been behind multiple YouTube movie productions and has also created various humorous artistic pieces. Our goal is to continue to expose the vile and delusional left-wing agenda, along with the parties that support this garbage.

While we have been unable to track down the source image, the Freedom of Speech Productions page makes it clear that the photograph of the sign is fake:
sign fake

The faked photograph of the sign was quick to go viral because it taps into longstanding and widespread negative tropes about immigrants and migrant workers, during a time that immigration and migration are consistently major topics in the news — both in Australia and throughout the rest of the world.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.