Iraq 2001 flag video: Pride claim debunked

Shafaq News/ A video clip aired by Iraq’s Qanaat Al-Shabaab (Youth TV) in 2001 has resurfaced on social media, with some users incorrectly claiming it shows the LGBTQ+ pride flag displayed during a football match under Saddam Hussein’s regime.

The footage, taken at Baghdad’s Al-Shaab International Stadium, shows a multicolored flag being waved by spectators. Online commentary suggested it was a symbol of LGBTQ+ representation, sparking debate about its appearance in state-run media at the time.

The Esber Center for fact-checking, affiliated with the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights, reviewed the footage and said the flag was misidentified. According to the center, the flag is a “Pace” flag — a well-known peace symbol originating in Europe, commonly seen in demonstrations since the 1960s, especially in Italy.

Unlike the six-striped LGBTQ+ pride flag, the Pace flag has seven stripes and typically bears the word “PACE,” meaning “peace” in Italian. The center concluded that the claim regarding pro-LGBTQ+ content being broadcast by Iraqi state media at the time is misleading. It said the flag’s appearance was unrelated to LGBTQ+ symbolism.