Widespread video of a parent ripping down a Pride flag in classroom is a skit, not real
FILE - The LGBTQ+ pride flag flies beneath the American flag at the Stonewall National Monument, Oct. 11, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
CLAIM: Video shows an angry parent tearing down a Pride flag draped over a U.S. map in a classroom.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The clip shows actors performing a skit, as a longer version makes clear. It was posted by a social media personality who has previously shared similar videos, including with some of the same actors, and who clarified that it was “openly fake.”
THE FACTS: The video was amplified in recent days by high-profile figures on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Running 1 minute and 22 seconds, the clip shows a supposed mother wearing a hat bursting into a classroom and tearing down the flag, revealing a U.S. map.
“I am not paying my tax money to support this type of —” the mother says, throwing the flag in a trash bin. “We are paying you to teach history, and that’s what you need to be teaching.”
The flustered teacher tells the mother to leave the room before calling security.
“GOD BLESS THIS MAMA!!!!!” Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote in an X post sharing the clip Monday. “I stand with her!!!”
In a follow-up post, the congresswoman acknowledged it may not be real, writing: “If this is a fake or a skit, it’s a very good representation of exactly how people feel.”
But it is indeed a skit, contrary to many comments suggesting it is authentic.
The clip was taken from a longer version of the video posted Sept. 16 on the Facebook page of Jibrizy, a self-identified comedian who has uploaded similar videos; he has also performed as a magician.
Jibrizy tells viewers at the end of the parent-teacher video that “this was all a skit” before soliciting opinions on the scenario. Other videos on his page show the same actors in the same classroom performing other skits.
He also took to X on Sunday to again acknowledge it wasn’t real.
“This video is originally my video people steal it gain a following off it and never credit me. I am the director,” he wrote. “I create video to start discussion. It’s openly fake. But I want you to debate your point of view.”
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This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.