Palestinian flag in Chicago raised by local Muslim group, not city | Fact check

BrieAnna J. Frank, USA TODAY
Updated ·3 min read

The claim: Video shows the city of Chicago raising a Palestinian flag

A May 13 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) includes a video that shows dozens of people watching as a Palestinian flag is hoisted to the top of a flagpole.

“Chicago ceremonially raises the Palestinian flag to the same height as the American flag,” reads the text on the video.

It received more than 600 likes in one week.

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Our rating: False

This wasn't an official city action as the post asserts. The video shows an event by the Chicago chapter of American Muslims for Palestine. The group received a permit to host the flag-raising ceremony at Daley Plaza, a Public Building Commission of Chicago spokesperson said.

Local Jewish groups raised Israeli flag at the same plaza several days later

Contrary to the post's claim, the city of Chicago was not the entity that raised the Palestinian flag.

Rather, the flag-raising ceremony was part of an annual event by the Chicago chapter of American Muslims for Palestine, the Chicago Tribune reported. The group had a livestream from the event showing various speakers addressing the crowd before the flag was raised to cheers and applause.

Local Jewish groups also hosted an Israeli flag-raising ceremony at Daley Plaza on May 14, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Fact check: Post falsely claims Palestinian flag in 1939 included the Star of David

Groups can apply for permits to host commemorative events and flag-raising ceremonies at the plaza, which are reviewed and approved by the property manager, Transwestern and the Public Building Commission of Chicago, commission spokesperson Bryant Payne said.

The Muslim group's application was approved on May 1 for the May 11 event, Payne said. The county flag is taken down for such events so that other flags may be raised to the top of the flagpole.

"Flags of other countries are not raised higher than the American flag," Payne said.

Building security removed the Palestinian flag at 9 p.m., and the county flag was restored that same evening, he said.

USA TODAY has debunked an array of claims surrounding the Palestinian flag, including false assertions that Harvard University raised the flag in the place of the American flag, that protesters replaced the American flag with the Palestinian flag at the Golden Gate Bridge and that a video shows the Danish king waving the Palestinian flag.

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

Reuters and PolitiFact also debunked the claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim city of Chicago raised Palestinian flag | Fact check