false flag
noun
plural false flags
1
: a hostile or harmful action (such as an attack) that is designed to look like it was perpetrated by someone other than the person or group responsible for it
In case you didn't know, a false flag is an incident that is designed to deceive people into thinking it was actually carried out by someone else.—
Nick Giambruno
Nick Giambruno… ex-House of Commons clerk Eliot Wilson argues in an article for the paper that "it does not take the mind of a conspiracy theorist" to imagine that Downing Street may have been behind what now appears to have been a false flag.—Joe Evans
—often used before another nounJoe Evansa false flag operation
false flag attacks
The false flag conspiracy theory circulated widely after the riot …—Ted Sickinger
Ted Sickinger2
: a deliberate misrepresentation of motives or identity
Maybe more troublesome is the fact that a small percentage of sources were recruited under false flags or based on coercion.—Nel Marais
Nel Marais
also
: something used to misrepresent motives or identity
The Russian hackers had attempted to blame North Korea, China and other adversaries as the culprit of those assaults through a series of false flags implanted in the malware that were designed to throw investigators off track. —Cynthia Brumfield
Cynthia Brumfield "Craft" is a false flag, a depoliticization of art and thus an undermining of art's ability to change or even to question the status quo. —Jonathan Dee
Jonathan Dee 3
: a flag used to disguise the identity of something (such as a ship)
Examples of false flag in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Gilroy drew upon his lifelong study of historical revolutions to inform the show’s interweaving storylines of payroll heists and gulag escapes, street riots and false flag operations, squabbling freedom fighters and pitiless secret police.
—Adam B. Vary, Variety, 13 May 2025
Instead, during the fortnight that has gone by, Pakistan has indulged in denial and made allegations of false flag operations against India.
—Dan Gooding
gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 May 2025
State and nonstate actors could conduct anonymous attacks or act under a false flag.
—Robert Martinage, Foreign Affairs, 1 Jan. 2015
The Kremlin may also be setting information conditions for a false flag operation in Transnistria.
—Andy Biggs, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024
Advertisement Carlson described Epps as a principal in a false flag operation in which the government incited the Jan. 6 riot, an unfounded conspiracy theory.
—Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2024
This discovery is smartly crosscut with Daryl’s mission, which quickly proves to be a false flag.
—Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2024
Some voices on the left quickly proclaimed the shooting to be a false flag concocted by Trump, while some Trump supporters suggested the Secret Service intentionally failed to protect Trump on the White House’s orders.
—Ali Swenson, Twin Cities, 14 July 2024
Here’s a look at the claims that surfaced online following the shooting:
Claims of an inside job or false flag are unsubstantiated
Many of the more specious claims that surfaced immediately after the shooting sought to blame Trump or his Democratic opponent, President Joe Biden, for the attack.
—Ali Swenson, Twin Cities, 14 July 2024
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Adam B. Vary, Variety, 13 May 2025
Instead, during the fortnight that has gone by, Pakistan has indulged in denial and made allegations of false flag operations against India.
—Dan Gooding
gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 May 2025
State and nonstate actors could conduct anonymous attacks or act under a false flag.
—Robert Martinage, Foreign Affairs, 1 Jan. 2015
The Kremlin may also be setting information conditions for a false flag operation in Transnistria.
—Andy Biggs, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024
Advertisement Carlson described Epps as a principal in a false flag operation in which the government incited the Jan. 6 riot, an unfounded conspiracy theory.
—Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2024
This discovery is smartly crosscut with Daryl’s mission, which quickly proves to be a false flag.
—Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2024
Some voices on the left quickly proclaimed the shooting to be a false flag concocted by Trump, while some Trump supporters suggested the Secret Service intentionally failed to protect Trump on the White House’s orders.
—Ali Swenson, Twin Cities, 14 July 2024
Here’s a look at the claims that surfaced online following the shooting:
Claims of an inside job or false flag are unsubstantiated
Many of the more specious claims that surfaced immediately after the shooting sought to blame Trump or his Democratic opponent, President Joe Biden, for the attack.
—Ali Swenson, Twin Cities, 14 July 2024
Cite this Entry
“False flag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/false%20flag. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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