'Digital euro' sparks rumours

European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde's recent remarks on a "digital euro" prompted a fresh wave of misinformation online, highlighting an uphill battle ahead to convince the public of the project's merits.

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The decision to create a digital euro -- essentially an electronic form of cash -- backed by the ECB -- has not been made and any possible launch would be years away.

But when Ms Lagarde in a news conference this month referenced an October 2025 deadline for moving to the next stage of preparations, social media lit up with alarmist messages that the launch was imminent.

Harald Vilimsky, a member of the European Parliament from Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), was among those insisting that the ECB wants to introduce the digital euro in October', an incorrect claim that spread in several languages.

The chorus was echoed on X by Nico-las Dupont-Aignan, the Eurosceptic head of the Rise up France party, who added that the project was "madness for our freedoms".

Other widely shared posts repeated misconceptions that have dogged the project: that a digital euro would mean the 'end of cash' or be used for financial surveillance, allowing the ECB to "block" or "track" payments or access savings.

'Your money will no longer be yours', alleged a French TikTok video shared more than 15,000 times.