Pride flags displayed at Rockefeller Center, not United Nations | Fact check

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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The claim: The United Nations replaced all its flags with LGBTQ pride flags

A June 8 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a picture of numerous rainbow flags waving from flag poles lined up in front of several buildings.

"The United Nations replaces all 193 country flags with LGBT flags," reads on-screen text included in the post.

The recieved more than 500 likes in four days. Similar versions of the claim have been shared on Instagram and Twitter.

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Our rating: False

The image shows rainbow flags flying at Rockefeller Center, not at a U.N. location. A U.N. spokesperson said the organization never changes its flags.

LGBTQ+ flags are displayed at Rockefeller Center

Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the U.N. Secretary-General, told USA TODAY the photo used in the Instagram post shows flags at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, not at any U.N. location. The U.N. headquarters is located several blocks from Rockefeller Center.

"The flags that fly outside of the U.N. headquarters are only those of the 193 member states and two observer states, as well as, of course, the flag of the United Nations itself," Dujarric said in an email. "No other flags are ever displayed."

The photo was originally uploaded to Wikimedia Commons in 2019 with a caption in German that says the flags marked the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

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The article where the claim originated also says the flags were swapped at Rockefeller Center.

The center displays the flags of the 193 U.N. member states during most of the year, but occasionally switches them out for holidays and special occasions, such as Pride Month. It has been displaying pride flags during June for several years.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post and Rockefeller Center for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

The claim has also been debunked by the Associated Press, Reuters and AFP.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LGBTQ+ flags displayed at Rockefeller Center, not UN | Fact check