Fact Check: Did an American raise a black flag over tensions between the US and Iran?
WASHINGTON, DC: Amid the geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, a video began circulating on social media platforms claiming to show an American waving a US flag outside of his house as a protest against the US relationship with Israel and tensions in the Middle East, sparking doubts.
Let us analyse the video and fact-check it.
Claim: An American raises black flag to protest Israel's relationship with United States amid war with Iran
The video went viral after it was shared by Iran's Tasnim News Agency, claiming to show an American hanging a black US flag outside his home to protest Israel's relationship with the United States amid the war in the Middle East.
The post was accompanied by a caption stating, “Americans Protest Israel's Influence by Displaying Black US Flags at Homes. Americans have begun hanging black US flags outside their homes in protest against Israel's control over their government."
The claim has spread on multiple social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, garnering hundreds of thousands of views.
Fact Check: Video is from 2021, showing protest against Joe Biden's government
The claim, however, is false, as the video is outdated. A reverse image search on Google revealed that it was originally posted on TikTok in August 2021.
The original post was shared alongside a caption stating, “Today my BF who's an Army Veteran changed the flag on the outside of our house.. #hisbiggestsupporter #blackamericanflag #sosad."
The user wrote under the comments that the flag was purchased from Amazon. AFP identified the person in the video as a then-deputy at a local sheriff's office, who hung the flag "because we don't support the current government."
The video was posted at a time when Joe Biden was the president.
United States cites Israel in justification for Iran war
The claim surfaced after State Department legal adviser Reed Rubinstein stated that US actions in Iran were taken “at the request of and in the collective self-defense of its Israeli ally, as well as in the exercise of the United States’ own inherent right of self-defense.”
The remark refers to a State Department legal opinion titled ‘Operation Epic Fury and International Law’, published on April 21, which discusses the legal justification for US actions involving Iran under international law.
However, the line is part of a wider legal argument about international law, which should not be treated as an official admission that the US entered a declared war solely because Israel requested it.
