Fact-Check: Do These Images Show the Currency of Kurdistan? No!

We found out that the image is fake and does not show an authentic currency note.

An image is being shared on social media, claiming to show the currency of Kurdistan, which allegedly features Prophet Zoroaster.

(Source: Facebook/Altered by The Quint)

An image is being shared on social media, claiming to show the currency of Kurdistan, which allegedly features Prophet Zoroaster.

• The post is captioned, "Hats off & Salute to the people of Kurdistan the only Country in the World to keep the Photographs of our Prophet Zoroaster on their Currency (sic)."

An archived version of this claim can be found here. 

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(An archived version of a similar claim can be found here.)

Is it true?: No, the image is fake and does not show the actual currency of the countries where the Kurd community live.

How did we find out?: We ran a reverse image search on the image using Google Lens and couldn't find any credible sources sharing the image

• The image reads 'One Thousand Kurdos'.

• However, after running a keyword search, we could not find a recognised currency called 'Kurdos'.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

• Following this, we ran one of the images through Sightengine, an AI detection tool, which flagged it as 99 percent likely to be AI-generated.

The results for Sightengine detection. 

(Source: Sightengine/Screenshot)

Since Kurdistan comprises regions of four countries, Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria, we reached out to fact-checkers from each of the four countries.

Iraq

• Fact-checkers from the Iraqi Network for Social Media (INSM Network) confirmed that the currency in the image was not the official currency of their country, mentioning that they only used Iraqi dinar in Iraq.

• Locals in Sulaymaniyah, a city in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, also confirmed to The Quint that the currency in the image does not exist in Iraq.

The currency of Iraq - Iraqi dinar

(Source: Central Bank of Iraq/Screenshot)

Iran

• The Iranian rial, the currency of Iran, has no official symbol.

(Source: Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran/Screenshot)

Turkey

• The lira is the official currency of Turkey, issued by the Central Bank of Turkey.

• In the current series, each denomination depicts a notable Turkish person.

• Fact-checkers from Teyit, a Turkey-based fact-checking organisation, confirmed that the currency in the image was not the official currency of their country.

• They mentioned that the Kurdish community in Turkey uses the official currency of Turkey, the Turkish Lira.

(Source: Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey/Screenshot)

Syria

• The Syrian Pound is the official currency of Syria, issued by the Central Bank of Syria.

• The current series depicts the Central Bank of Syria.

• Fact-checkers from Verify-Sy, a Syrian fact-checking platform, confirmed that there is no officially used Kurdish currency in Syria matching the one shown in the image.

The currency notes issued in 2025.

(Source: Central Bank of Syria)

Conclusion: The image is fake and does not show the actual currency of the countries in Kurdistan.

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