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
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
Other scenarios in our report involve such things as insider threats, AI vulnerabilities, false flag attacks, ecoterrorism, ransomware during a launch, as well as more distant scenarios about asteroid mining, off-world colonies and space pirates.
—Patrick Lin, Professor Of Philosophy, Discover Magazine, 6 July 2024
Read more Claim: Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse was a false flag
Our rating: False
Footage, photos and statements by officials prove the bridge's collapse was caused by a cargo ship striking it.
—Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2024
The greatest danger to our democracy, enlightenment and justice is in schools that indoctrinate under the false flag of education.
—Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 3 Mar. 2024
It was not demolished as part of a false flag operation.
—Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2024
Pyongyang uses intermediaries and false flags to disguise its vessels.
—Jonathan Corrado, Foreign Affairs, 15 Feb. 2024
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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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
Other scenarios in our report involve such things as insider threats, AI vulnerabilities, false flag attacks, ecoterrorism, ransomware during a launch, as well as more distant scenarios about asteroid mining, off-world colonies and space pirates.
—Patrick Lin, Professor Of Philosophy, Discover Magazine, 6 July 2024
Read more Claim: Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse was a false flag
Our rating: False
Footage, photos and statements by officials prove the bridge's collapse was caused by a cargo ship striking it.
—Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2024
The greatest danger to our democracy, enlightenment and justice is in schools that indoctrinate under the false flag of education.
—Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 3 Mar. 2024
It was not demolished as part of a false flag operation.
—Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2024
Pyongyang uses intermediaries and false flags to disguise its vessels.
—Jonathan Corrado, Foreign Affairs, 15 Feb. 2024
Dictionary Entries Near false flag
Cite this Entry
“False flag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/false%20flag. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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