FACT CHECK: No, Colors In The Progress Pride Flag Do Not Represent Attraction To Children
A video shared on TikTok claims the white, pink and light blue stripes in an updated pride flag represent pedophiles or attraction to children.
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Verdict: False
There is no evidence for the claim. The white, pink and light blue stripes represent transgender people.
Fact Check:
An LGBTQ+ flag was burned at a Californian elementary school prior to a pride event, police are investigating the incident as a hate crime, according to NBC News. Los Angeles Unified School District said someone broke into the school during the weekend and set a potted plant with a 4 x 6 inch pride flag on fire, Sky News reported.
The TikTok video purports some colors of the pride flag represent pedophilia. The video opens with a man tapping his phone and then shows footage of another man standing next to a mural of a pride flag and explaining the theory.
“These colors right here seem to be a little strange,” the man says, pointing to the white, blue and pink. “And this goes into what’s called the minor attracted person or youth attracted person, pedophile flag. So I want to go over what these actual colors mean.”
He then claims that the blue stands for attraction to infant boys, the pink is for attraction to minor girls and the white is for attraction to virgin children.
There is no evidence for this claim, however. The colors the man in the video is speaking about represent the transgender flag. Created in 1999 by Monica Helms, the blue and pink colors represent boys and girls, while the white represents transitioning, intersex or gender-neutral identities, according to USA Today.
The mural as a whole represents the Progress Pride Flag. The Progress Pride Flag, created by Daniel Qasar, was updated from the Philadelphia pride flag to be inclusive of the transgender community, according to the Human Rights Campaign. (RELATED: Pride-Themed Ford Commercial Stems From 2022, Not 2023)
Check Your Fact reached out to Qasar for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.
