Disney World is not replacing American flags with Pride flags

By: Umme Kulsum
May 25 2023

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Context

A video has gone viral on social media claiming that Disney World will hoist a Pride flag instead of the American flag. The video was initially posted on both Instagram and YouTube by a satire page named "Mouse Trap News." The video contains the visuals of the American flag being lowered at Disney World as a crowd stands to watch the spectacle. The text says, "Disney Replacing American Flags With Pride Flags." Further, the voiceover in the video claims the change will be in place for the entire month of June 2023.

Despite the fact that this is meant as a parody, many users have reshared the screenshot of the text shared initially by Mouse Tap News, believing it to be true. Commenters on the post criticized Disney World for making this change and added that it made the theme park "less kid- and family-friendly."

In Fact

Initial research showed us that lowering the American flag is a custom Disney World follows daily, but it has no connection with Pride. Upon conducting a Google search, Logically Facts discovered a page on Disney World's official website. According to the website, a flag retreat is held every day in which the American flag is lowered while the country's national anthem is played at Disney World and Disneyland.

The website adds that it is a daily tradition and a ceremony to give tribute to veterans as a way of saying "thank you" for their service, sacrifice, and commitment to defending the nation. The ceremony is held at 5:00 p.m. every day. Disney World has made no mention of the Pride flag.

Moreover, this claim originated from an Instagram page called "Mouse Trap News," which is known to spread satirical information about Disney World. A disclaimer stating it is a satirical website can be found in the "about" section of the website. The disclaimer read, "Mouse Trap News is the world's best satire site. We write fake stories about Disney Parks stuff. From Disney Park announcements to Disney Hotel and resort news to made-up Disney partnerships, you can be assured that anything you read here is not true, real, or accurate, but it is fun. So technically our slogan The Moused Trusted Name in Disney News isn't true, but we thought it was creative and funny, so we are running with it."

This establishes that a satirical video has been mistaken as depicting actual events.

The Verdict

The American flag is lowered daily at Disney World as part of a flag retreat ceremony to honor the nation and its Veterans. Disney World has made no official announcements that the American flag would be replaced with a Pride flag. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.false.