false flag

[fawls flag]

noun

1. an attack or other hostile action that obscures the identity of the participants carrying out the action while implicating another group or nation as the perpetrator (often used attributively): The false flag terrorist attack lured the military into a hasty response.

   Evidence suggests that the covert operation was a false flag.

   The false flag terrorist attack lured the military into a hasty response.

2. a misrepresentation of affiliation or motivation or a false equivalence deliberately put forth to manipulate the context, perception, or frame of an action, object, or argument (often used attributively).

   Public schools are losing tax dollars to private schools under the false flag of school vouchers expanding parental choice.

3. a flag flown to disguise the nationality or affiliation of a vessel, vehicle, or base of operations.

   Surviving sailors reported that the privateer was flying a false flag on approach and attacked as soon as cannons were in range.

Word History and Origins

Origin of false flag¹

First recorded in 1560–70

Example Sentences

Even Alex Jones, who was infamously ordered by a court to pay for calling the Sandy Hook school shooting a false flag operation and accusing the dead children of being crisis actors, uploaded a video of himself distraught at the news of Kirk’s shooting and blinking away tears in his car.

From Salon

Or rather, Cooper thought that it was a "false flag" attack staged on the anniversary of Waco to smear the militia movement.

From Salon

Legality is a false flag, and it will not always protect us.

From Slate

He secrets away a trove of incriminating documents about a nasty false flag operation and cover-up, which he uses as leverage to demand his own field training.

From Los Angeles Times

It was the site of the Gleiwitz incident - a false flag incident staged by Nazi Germany in 1939 to justify the invasion of Poland, one of the triggers of World War Two.

From BBC

When To Use

What is a false flag?

A false flag is intentional misrepresentation, especially a covert political or military operation carried out to appear as if it was undertaken by another party.