The claim: The United Nations has replaced all of its flags with LGBTQ pride flags
A June 8 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a photo of numerous rainbow flags waving from flagpoles lined up in front of several buildings.
“The United Nations is replacing all 193 country flags with LGBT flags,” the message read onscreen.
They received over 500 likes in four days. Similar versions of the claim were shared on Instagram and Twitter.
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Our opinion: False
The image shows rainbow flags waving at Rockefeller Center, not at a UN location. A UN spokesman said the organization never changes its flags.
LGBTQ+ flags are displayed at Rockefeller Center
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary general, told USA TODAY that the photo used in the Instagram post shows flags at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, not at any UN location. The UN headquarters is located several blocks from Rockefeller Center.
“The flags flying outside the UN headquarters are just those of the 193 member states and two observer states, plus, of course, the UN flag itself,” Dujarric said in a statement. E-mail. “No other flags are ever displayed.”
The photo was originally uploaded to Wikimedia Commons in 2019 with a caption in German stating that the flags marked the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.
Fact check: No, Disney does not replace American flags with pride flags; to pretend is satire
The article giving rise to the claim also states that the flags were exchanged at Rockefeller Center.
The center displays the flags of the 193 UN member states for most of the year, but sometimes changes them for holidays and special occasions, such as Pride Month. It has displayed pride flags in June for several years.
USA TODAY contacted the user who shared the post and Rockefeller Center for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
The claim was also denied by the Associated Press, Reuters and AFP.
Our fact-checking sources:
- Stéphane Dujarric, June 12, Exchange of emails with USA TODAY
- Wikimedia Commons, 29 Jun 2019, File: Rainbow flags at Rockefeller Plaza.JPG
- Rockefeller Center, April 3, Rockefeller Center chefs share their favorite New York culinary memories for this year’s Flag Project
- Rockefeller Center (web archive), June 18, 2021, Rockefeller Center Celebrates Pride
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