Is it true that the colors of the Ukrainian flag were added to the LGBT+ flag?

In May 2022, one version of the rainbow flag, complemented by yellow and blue stripes, began to be published on social networks. We checked where this picture came from.

Users published a photo of an unusual modification of the rainbow flag at the end of May. Facebook*, "VKontakte", Twitter and other social networks. Usually the picture was accompanied by captions like “The new LGBT flag includes the colors of the Ukrainian flag.” Image published in his Telegram channel (116,000 subscribers at the time of writing this analysis), political scientist and regular participant in Vladimir Solovyov’s streams Sergei Karnaukhov, clarifying that “in the West, citizens of Square were identified as sexual minorities.” Publication in other Telegram channels escorted with a comment from Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Alexey Arestovich: “The inclusion of the colors of the flag of Ukraine in the colors of the flag of the global LGBT community is recognition of our valiant Armed Forces of Ukraine and an unprecedented victory over global evil.”

LGBT rainbow flag was developed in the late 1970s in San Francisco - it was invented by artist Gilbert Baker. The flag originally had eight stripes, but the number was later reduced to six. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, this flag became a global symbol of the LGBT community in the mid-1990s.

Since the appearance of the LGBT flag is not enshrined in any documents, various activists regularly propose expanded and modified versions. For example, the basis of the image we are interested in is a version called Progress Pride, developed in 2018 by American designer Daniel Quasar. According to his idea, the blue, pink and white stripes represent transgender and non-binary people, while the brown and black stripes represent marginalized communities of people of color. The black stripe has a dual meaning as it also commemorates "those living with AIDS, the stigma and prejudice surrounding them, and those who have lost their lives to the disease."

Constantly incoming proposals for changes and additions to the classic six-stripe flag are often cause discussions and even ridicule. How found out our colleagues at Reuters, the Progress Pride flag with the addition of yellow and blue stripes is also the result of irony at activists who, in their opinion, are developing increasingly inclusive versions.

May 22 Canadian journalist Kim Seaver published tweeted a photo of his house painted in the colors of the classic rainbow flag. In response, the account @ProjectDroc reminded Seaver said the six-stripe flag was outdated and "does not represent some people, such as people of color," and called for the version designed by Quasar to be used. In turn, user @aryanfaggot ridiculed this answer: his tweet is exactly the same as @ProjectDroc's post, but replaces the word “colored” with “Ukrainians.” The tweet also included a flag with yellow and blue stripes added to it.

Not all users understood that @aryanfaggot's comment was ironic. even published on Twitter US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. A representative of the Republican Party accompanied the image with the caption “Do the Nazis in the Ukrainian army know about this?” User @aryanfagot is pretty quick wrote a lot tweets, in which he was surprised that his comic picture was taken seriously and became so popular.

We were unable to find a comment about the appearance of the colors of the Ukrainian flag on the LGBT flag, which some Internet users attributed to Alexey Arestovich. We could not find relevant records either on the politician’s social networks or in his speeches in the media and on YouTube. Judging by the TGStat service, the original source of this quote is a post on the Mercury Telegram channel (72,000 subscribers), appeared in the afternoon of May 26.

Reuters draws attention to the fact that although gay pride parades take place in Ukraine, their participants and activists only recently were exposed attacks. As reported Pew Research Center and Ukrainian LGBT Human Rights Center "Our World", the level of homophobia in the country remains quite high. Ukrainian the constitution, as well as Russian, defines marriage exclusively as the union of a man and a woman.

Update dated 03/06/2022. This material is devoted to the analysis of statements related to a specific image that appeared on May 22 as a joke, but subsequently began to be used outside of a satirical context. At the same time, the organizers of the LGBT+ parade, which will be held in Dublin on June 25, really added The event flag has yellow and blue triangles. However, neither on the official Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride website nor in its social networks it is not explicitly stated that such a decision is related to support for Ukraine. This “updated” rainbow flag is still on April 29th appeared in a post by Member of the Irish Government Roderick O'Gorman on Instagram*; In his post, the minister talked about the types of assistance for LGBT refugees from Ukraine. However, in this case we are talking about the flag of one specific pride event, which will be held in Dublin, and not the flag of the entire LGBT community, as the authors of the statements we verified stated. In this regard, we maintain the verdict “Satirical News”, rendered based on the results of the analysis.

*Russian authorities think Meta Platforms Inc., which owns the social networks Facebook and Instagram, is an extremist organization; its activities in Russia are prohibited.

Satirical news

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. Reuters. Fact Check — Colors of Ukrainian flag not added to official pride flag
2. Is it true that Ukraine will send a “gay battalion” to Donbass?
3. Is it true that in Europe they are demanding the inclusion of an LGBT character in the animated series “Masha and the Bear”?