False Flags

Dictionary.com defines a false flag as 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.  

False flags have been used since the 16th century and was often used by pirates in a more literal sense than the definition we currently have.  Pirates would raid or sink ships while flying the flag of a neutral or enemy country to hide their true identities and get close enough to boats to attack.  It later was normalized in naval warfare and was acceptable with international war laws.  This strategy often causes confusion when it comes to historical accounts, but was a very affective form of deception during both land, air, and sea battles.  

Although it may seem like we don’t have false flags anymore, that is not the case.  We don't commonly use it as literally as it was used in the past, but now this has become very common in our governments and even all over social media with the use of fake accounts and disinformation.  

For example, in 2018 there were explosive devices sent to critics of President Donald Trump.  The theory about the convenient timing of this was speculated to be a strategy to help the liberals win the midterms with people like Donald Trump hinting at this as well.  Because of this, it is argued that the bombing attempts were a "false flag" and were used to drive the public to believe one narrative.  "Some on the right argue, the goal of the left is to 'frame' conservatives for the mailings and drive Democrats to the polls in November."  

Another way false flags are now commonly used in our society are on social media.  It is easy to pretend to be someone when people can hide behind their scenes.  This creates an opportunity for false flags to be prevalent.  Fake accounts can be used to impersonate people or groups.  Pictures can also be manipulated to make it seem like someone posted something on social media that they did not.  An example of this is when a popular twitter account "@advbarryroux tweeted what at first glance appears to be a racist Facebook post made by a DA member."  This post said blatantly racist things that where posted alongside a DA logo making it look like they had made the racist comments on social media.  This was designed to make the DA look at fault and not just an individual.  It was meant to implicate an entire group under false pretenses and could be very detrimental. 

We should be aware of false flags and how prevalent they are in society now.  Our views and opinions towards people can be manipulated easily by these and it is important to fact check and vet sources/accounts.  We are likely presented by dozens of false flags a day and are not even aware of it so it is imperative we are conscious that this method can be used against us.