In December 2023, social networks reported on a pro-Palestinian protest in San Francisco, in which participants allegedly removed the Star-Spangled Banner from one of the city’s main landmarks. We have checked the correctness of such publications.

On December 8, several photos circulated on social networks showing an unknown man climbing a flagpole installed next to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. In some of the pictures the American flag flutters, in others it is the Palestinian flag. Some posts also include a video in which the voices of protesters can be heard shouting slogans. These materials were posted, in particular, by Telegram channels AZfront (68,000 views at the time of writing this analysis) and “Israel⚡️Trash» (44,000), as well as users Facebook, X, TikTok And YouTube.

On December 6, several dozen people in San Francisco held an action in support of a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been conducting a military operation for several weeks after the attack by Hamas militants on Israel. By messages Californian media, the demonstrators, in particular, walked along the pedestrian part of the Golden Gate Bridge, holding placards and chanting slogans.

In their reports, local journalists reported that the Palestinian flag actually appeared at the bridge - they claim that it stayed on the flagpole for less than an hour. The man who hanged him was arrested soon after. As fact checkers from Reuters found out, some protesters who talked about the action on social networks, mentioned intention to replace the American flag with a Palestinian one. However, the four-color banner was placed not instead of, but together with the stars and stripes - this can be seen from TV channel broadcasts Kron 4 News And ABC 7 News.