FACT CHECK: Hillary Clinton didn’t advocate for cash ban to fight climate change

A news platform has claimed that Hillary Clinton, former US secretary of state, said it is time to make cash transactions illegal in America, so as to fight climate change.

According to the online report, Clinton allegedly made the statement during a recent trip to India, where she planned to advance the transition to digital currency. 

With the help of digital tools used for open-source analysis, TheCable found copies of the claim on Twitter, where the post was viewed over 28,000 times. 

💥12th Feb, 2023 Hillary Clinton: ‘It’s Time to BAN Cash To Fight Climate Change’

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So the Great Reset is going to begin Mid-2023 with Digital dollar (fully controlled communist currency)

Mid-2023 is also Debt ceiling end date & LIBOR end date.

August – BRICS summit.

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— Dr. Shah (@ankitatIIMA) February 18, 2023

Despite not providing any video or audio evidence to buttress the claim, the online news platform posted a report with the headline, “Hillary Clinton: ‘It’s Time to BAN Cash To Fight Climate Change’”.

THE FOCUS OF HILLARY CLINTON’S VISIT TO INDIA

The Clinton Foundation said she didn’t say any such thing during her visit to India, where she indeed highlighted women’s health programs and the launch of a climate impact fund. 

During her visit to the headquarters of the Self Employed Women’s Association, known as the largest women worker’s trade union in India, the former secretary of state and presidential aspirant, said the Clinton Global Initiative is working closely with other organisations to start a $50 million fund to help women fight climate change.

According to the report by Indian Times, she noted that women workers largely in the informal sector, working in difficult conditions to assist their families, are the worst affected by direct exposure to heat waves, adding that the global climate resilience fund will assuage the challenge.

Times of India also reported her thoughts on the potential of India, the most populous country in the world, to become a global leader in clean energy. 

Another platform highlighted her stands on the need for students to take breaks from social media.

However, in no part of her delivery did she touch on cryptocurrency, let alone make a call about banning cash. The spokesperson of the Clinton Foundation confirmed that the attribution is “100% false”.

Previous reports have debunked media posts claiming that the US government had ordered the total implementation of a digital currency, implying that the production of banknotes had stopped. 

VERDICT

The claim is false. Hillary Clinton did not make any comment on moving away from physical money or banning cash to fight climate change.

This fact check was produced by TheCable with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck, International Fact-Checking Network, and African Fact Checking Alliance network.