'WTF?' PolitiFact says it's 'Mostly True' that pro-police Thin Blue Line flag at Trump rally is an 'anti Black Lives Matter flag'

Sarah D | 1:34 PM on October 30, 2020

PolitiFact has become a trusted source for honest, quality fact-checking. But only for people who don’t actually care about facts.

Check out PolitiFact’s take on the pro-police Thin Blue Line flag that’s appeared at some Trump campaign rallies:

Wtf?—@PolitiFact rates it “mostly true” that the pro-police thin blue line flag is actually an “anti-Black Lives Matter” flag. pic.twitter.com/E0Y9qk5VOL

— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) October 30, 2020

This is not a drill:

I know it’s hard to believe. Here’s the link: https://t.co/95gerebNff

— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) October 30, 2020

Over the weekend, Dartmouth Prof. Jeff Sharlet tweeted this about the flag at a Trump rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin:

Tonight in Wisconsin. First the anti-Black Lives Matter flag flew outside his rallies, then beside the American flag. Now it has replaced the American flag. That’s significant. pic.twitter.com/1IXgo06A3C

— Jeff Sharlet (@JeffSharlet) October 25, 2020

Sharlet’s tweet was featured in a Facebook post that referred to the Thin Blue Line flag as “the anti-Black Lives Matter flag.”

And according to PolitiFact, that’s proof enough that the pro-police flag is effectively anti-BLM:

In terms of the Facebook claim, The image and description — that the flag has taken on greater prominence at the Trump rallies in Wisconsin — is on target. And the Thin Blue Line flag has become a prominent part of the pro-police Blue Lives Matter movement — which arose to counter the Blak Lives Matter movement.

That said, while it is possible to support both, Trump has made clear he opposes the Black Lives Matter protests — and made that opposition, and a strong law-and-order message, a prominent part of his re-election campaign. So, those attending the rally or seeing the images could easily see the flag as an “anti Black Lives Matter flag.”

We rate the claim Mostly True.