Editing False flag

{{Short description|Covert operation designed to deceive}}
{{Other uses|False Flag (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
[[File:Douglas A-26C Invader 435440 Tamiami 26.04.09R.jpg|thumb|300px|A U.S. [[Douglas A-26 Invader|Douglas A-26C Invader]] painted in false [[Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force|Cuban Air Force]] livery depicting those used in the [[Bay of Pigs Invasion]] undertaken by the CIA-sponsored paramilitary group [[Brigade 2506]] in April 1961.]]

A '''false flag''' operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misrepresentation of someone's allegiance.<ref name="grammarphobia">{{cite web |last1=O'Conner |first1=Patricia |last2=Kellerman |first2=Stewart |title=The True History of False Flags |date=11 May 2018 |publisher=Grammarphobia.com |url=https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2018/05/false-flag.html |access-date=9 June 2020}}</ref><ref name="cjr"/> The term was originally used to describe a [[ruse de guerre|ruse]] in [[naval warfare]] whereby a vessel flew the flag of a neutral or enemy country to hide its true identity.<ref name="grammarphobia"/><ref name="cjr"/><ref>{{cite news |title=False flags: What are they and when have they been used? |date=2022-02-18 |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60434579 |access-date=2022-05-20}}</ref> The tactic was initially used by [[piracy|pirates]] and [[privateers]] to deceive other ships into allowing them to move closer before attacking them. It later was deemed an acceptable practice during naval warfare according to international maritime laws, provided the attacking vessel displayed its true flag before commencing an attack.<ref name="Politakis2018">{{cite book |last=Politakis |first=George P. |title=Modern Aspects of the Laws of Naval Warfare and Maritime Neutrality |date=2018 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-136-88577-8 |pages=281– |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xn17DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT281}}</ref><ref name="Kert2015">{{cite book |author=Faye Kert |title=Privateering: Patriots and Profits in the War of 1812 |date=30 September 2015 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-1-4214-1747-9 |pages=62– |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6RQ0CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA62}}</ref><ref name="HickeyClark2015">{{cite book |author1=Donald R. Hickey |author2=Connie D. Clark |title=The Routledge Handbook of the War of 1812 |date=8 October 2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-70198-9 |pages=64– |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hjyvCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA64}}</ref>

The term today extends to include countries that organize attacks on themselves and make the attacks appear to be by enemy nations or terrorists, thus giving the nation that was supposedly attacked a [[casus belli|pretext]] for domestic repression or foreign military aggression<ref name="austinconspiracy">deHaven-Smith, Lance (2013). ''Conspiracy Theory in America''. Austin: [[University of Texas Press]]. p. 225</ref> (as well as to engender sympathy). Similarly deceptive activities carried out during peacetime by individuals or nongovernmental organizations have been called false-flag operations, but the more common legal term is a "[[frameup]]", "stitch up", or "setup".

==Use in warfare==
In land warfare, such operations are generally deemed acceptable under certain circumstances, such as to [[military deception|deceive enemies]], provided the deception is not [[perfidy|perfidious]] and that all such deceptions are discarded before opening fire upon the enemy. Similarly, in [[naval warfare]] such a deception is considered permissible, provided the false flag is lowered and the true flag raised before engaging in battle.<ref>"the use of a false flag has always been accepted as a legitimate ''[[ruse de guerre]]'' in naval warfare, the true battle flag being run up immediately before engaging" ({{citation |editor-last=Thomas |editor-first=Rosamund M. |year=1993 |title=Teaching Ethics: Government ethics |publisher=Centre for Business and Public |isbn=9781871891034 |page=80}}).</ref> [[Auxiliary cruiser]]s operated in such a fashion in both World Wars, as did [[Q-ship]]s, while merchant vessels were encouraged to use false flags for protection. Such masquerades promoted confusion not just of the enemy but of historical accounts. In 1914, the [[Battle of Trindade]] was fought between the British auxiliary cruiser [[RMS Carmania (1905)|RMS ''Carmania'']] and the German auxiliary cruiser [[SMS Cap Trafalgar|SMS ''Cap Trafalgar'']], which had been altered to look like ''Carmania''. (Contrary to some accounts, the ''Carmania'' had not been altered to resemble the ''Cap Trafalgar''.)

Another notable example was the [[World War II]] German commerce raider [[German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran|''Kormoran'']], which [[sinking of HMAS Sydney|surprised and sank]] the Australian light cruiser [[HMAS Sydney (1934)|HMAS ''Sydney'']] in 1941 while disguised as a Dutch merchant ship, causing the greatest loss of life on an Australian warship. While ''Kormoran'' was fatally damaged in the engagement and its crew captured, the outcome represented a considerable psychological victory for the Germans.<ref>Squires, Nick. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20080318165859/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/17/wsydney117.xml HMAS Sydney found off Australia's west coast]", [[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Telegraph]], 17 March 2008.</ref>

The British used a ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' [[ensign (flag)|ensign]] in the [[St Nazaire Raid]] and captured a German [[code]] book. The old destroyer [[HMS Campbeltown (I42)|''Campbeltown'']], which the British planned to sacrifice in the operation, was provided with cosmetic modifications that involved cutting the ship's funnels and [[chamfer]]ing the edges to resemble a German [[Type 23 torpedo boat]]. By this ruse the British got within two miles (3&nbsp;km) of the harbour before the defences responded, where the explosive-rigged ''Campbeltown'' and commandos successfully disabled or destroyed the key dock structures of the port.<ref>Guinness World Records (2009), p.155</ref><ref>Young, P (Ed) (1973) Atlas of the Second World War (London: The Military Book Society)</ref>

===Air warfare===
Between December 1922 and February 1923, a commission of jurists at [[the Hague]] drafted a set of rules concerning the Control of Wireless Telegraphy in Time of War and Air Warfare. They included:<ref>[https://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/The_Hague_Rules_of_Air_Warfare The Hague Rules of Air Warfare], December 1922 to February 1923, this convention was never adopted ([https://web.archive.org/web/20020601160139/http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/interwar/hagair.htm backup site]).</ref>

{{Blockquote|{{unbulleted list|Art. 3. A military aircraft must carry an exterior mark indicating its nationality and its military character.|Art. 19. The use of false exterior marks is forbidden.}}}}

This draft was never adopted as a legally binding treaty, but the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]] states in its introduction on the draft: "To a great extent, [the draft rules] correspond to the customary rules and general principles underlying treaties on the law of war on land and at sea",<ref>{{cite web |title=Rules concerning the Control of Wireless Telegraphy in Time of War and Air Warfare. Drafted by a Commission of Jurists at the Hague, December 1922 – February 1923: Introduction |publisher=[[ICRC]] |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/hague-rules-1923 |access-date=11 February 2025}}</ref> and as such these two non-controversial articles were already part of customary law.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gómez |first=Javier Guisández |title=The Law of Air Warfare |date=20 June 1998 |journal=[[International Review of the Red Cross]] |volume=38 |issue=323 |pages=347–63 |df=dmy |doi=10.1017/S0020860400091075 |url=http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/57jpcl.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425044944/http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/57jpcl.htm |archive-date=25 April 2013|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Land warfare===
In land warfare, the use of a false flag is similar to that of naval warfare: the trial of [[Waffen-SS|Waffen SS]] officer [[Otto Skorzeny]]—who planned and commanded [[Operation Greif]]—by a U.S. [[military tribunal]] at the [[Dachau trials]] included a finding that Skorzeny was not guilty of a crime by ordering his men into action in American uniforms. He had relayed to his men the warning of German legal experts: if they fought in American uniforms, they would be breaking the [[laws of war]]; however, they probably were not doing so simply by wearing the American uniforms. During the trial, a number of arguments were advanced to substantiate this position and the German and U.S. military seem to have been in agreement.

In the transcript of the trial,<ref>Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals. United Nations War Crimes Commission. [http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/skorzeny.htm Vol&nbsp;IX, 1949: Trial of Otto Skorzeny and others]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002175149/http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/skorzeny.htm |date=2 October 2008}}. General Military Government Court of the U.S. zone of Germany 18&nbsp;August to 9&nbsp;September 1947.</ref> it is mentioned that Paragraph 43 of the [[United States Army Field Manuals|Field Manual]] published by the [[U.S. Department of War|War Department]], [[United States Army]], on 1 October 1940, under the entry ''Rules of Land Warfare'' states: "National flags, insignias and uniforms as a ruse{{snd}}in practice it has been authorized to make use of these as a ruse. The foregoing rule (Article&nbsp;23 of the Annex of the [[Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907)#Hague Convention of 1907|IV Hague Convention]]), does not prohibit such use, but does prohibit their improper use. It is certainly forbidden to make use of them during a combat. Before opening fire upon the enemy, they must be discarded."

==As pretexts for war==
{{Further|Pretext#Uses in warfare}}

===Russo-Swedish War===
In 1788, the head tailor at the [[Royal Swedish Opera]] received an order to sew a number of Russian military uniforms. These were then used by Swedes to stage an attack on [[Puumala]], a Swedish outpost on the Russo-Swedish border, on 27 June 1788. This caused an outrage in [[Stockholm]] and impressed the [[Riksdag of the Estates]], the Swedish national assembly, who until then had refused to agree to an offensive war against Russia. The Puumala incident allowed King [[Gustav&nbsp;III]] of Sweden, who lacked the constitutional authority to initiate unprovoked hostilities without the Estates' consent, to launch the [[Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790)]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Mattila |first=Tapabi |title=Meri maamme turvana: Suomen meripuolustuksen vaiheita Ruotsin vallan aikana |publisher=Suomi Merellä-säätiö |year=1983 |isbn=951-99487-0-8 |location=Jyväskylä |page=142 |language=fi |trans-title=The Sea As Our Country's Security: Phases of Finnish Sea Defense During Swedish Rule}}</ref>

===Franco-Prussian War===
{{Main|Franco-Prussian War}}
{{See also|Causes of the Franco-Prussian War}}
On July 13, 1870, [[Otto von Bismarck]] published the [[Ems Dispatch]], an internal message from King [[William I, German Emperor|Wilhelm I]] to Bismarck regarding certain demands made by the French ambassador. In the version purposefully released to the public, Bismarck instead made it sound like the King had gravely disrespected the ambassador – a ploy to trick Emperor [[Napoleon III]] into declaring war on the [[North German Confederation]], with the end goal of unifying the northern and southern German states. This ploy would be successful, as Napoleon III would declare war six days later; and six months later, the Confederation would win and [[German Empire|unify the German states]].

===Second Sino-Japanese War===
{{Main|Mukden incident}}
[[File:193109 mukden incident railway sabotage.jpg|thumbnail|Japanese experts inspect the scene of the "railway sabotage" on the [[South Manchurian Railway]].]]
In September 1931, [[Seishirō Itagaki]] and other [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] mid- to junior-grade officers, without the knowledge of the Tokyo government, fabricated a pretext for invading [[Manchuria]] by blowing up a section of railway. Though the explosion was too weak to disrupt operations on the rail line, the Japanese nevertheless used the [[Mukden incident]] to seize Manchuria and create a [[puppet government]] in the form of the nominally independent state of [[Manchukuo]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Weland |first=James |title=Misguided Intelligence: Japanese Military Intelligence Officers in the Manchurian Incident, September 1931 |date=1994 |journal=[[The Journal of Military History]] |volume=58 |issue=3 |pages=445–460 |jstor=2944134 |doi=10.2307/2944134}}</ref>

===World War II===

====Gleiwitz incident====
{{Main|Gleiwitz incident}}
[[File:Alfred Naujocks.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Alfred Naujocks]]]]
The [[Gleiwitz incident]] in 1939 involved [[Reinhard Heydrich]] fabricating evidence of a [[Second Polish Republic|Polish]] attack against [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] to mobilize German public opinion for war and to justify the [[invasion of Poland (1939)|war against Poland]]. [[Alfred Naujocks]] was a key organiser of the operation under orders from Heydrich. It led to the deaths of [[Nazi concentration camp]] victims who were dressed as German soldiers and then shot by the [[Gestapo]] to make it seem that they had been shot by Polish soldiers. This, along with other false flag operations in [[Operation Himmler]], would be used to mobilize support from the German population for the start of [[European Theatre of World War II|World War&nbsp;II in Europe]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Lightbody |first=Bradley |title=The Second World War: Ambitions to Nemesis |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-415-22405-5 |location=Abingdon-on-Thames |pages=39}}</ref>

The operation failed to convince international public opinion of the German claims, and both Britain and France{{snd}}Poland's allies{{snd}}declared war two days after Germany invaded Poland.<ref>{{cite book |last=Zaloga |first=Steve |title=Poland 1939: The Birth of Blitzkrieg |publisher=[[Praeger Publishers]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0275982782 |edition=illustrated |location=Westport |pages=39 |orig-date=originally published in 2002 by Osprey Publishing}}</ref>

====Winter War====
On 26 November 1939, the Soviet army [[shelling of Mainila|shelled Mainila]], a Russian village near the Finnish border. Soviet authorities blamed [[Finland]] for the attack and used the incident as a pretext to invade Finland, starting the [[Winter War]], four days later.<ref name="talvisodanpikkujattilainen-turtola13">{{cite book |last=Turtola |first=Martti |title=Talvisodan pikkujättiläinen |publisher=[[Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö]] |year=1999 |editor1-last=Leskinen |editor1-first=Jari |pages=44–45 |trans-title=The Little Giant of the Winter War |chapter=Kansainvälinen kehitys Euroopassa ja Suomessa 1930-luvulla |editor2-last=Juutilainen |editor2-first=Antti}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Murphy |first=David |title=The Finnish-Soviet Winter War 1939-40 Stalin's Hollow Victory. |date=2021 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |others=Johnny Shumate |isbn=978-1-4728-4394-4 |location=London |pages=9 |oclc=1261364794 |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1261364794}}</ref>

===Cuban Revolution===

====Operation Northwoods====
{{Main|Operation Northwoods}}
[[File:NorthwoodsMemorandum.jpg|thumb|upright|Operation Northwoods memorandum (13 March 1962).<ref name=":1"/>]]
[[Operation Northwoods]], a 1962 plot proposed but never executed by the [[U.S. Department of Defense]] for a war with [[Cuba]], involved scenarios such as fabricating the hijacking or shooting down of passenger and military planes, sinking a U.S. ship in the vicinity of Cuba, burning crops, sinking a boat filled with Cuban refugees, attacks by alleged Cuban infiltrators inside the United States, and harassment of U.S. aircraft and shipping, and the destruction of aerial drones by aircraft disguised as Cuban MiGs.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=Pentagon Proposes Pretexts for Cuba Invasion in 1962 |date=30 April 2001 |website=[[National Security Archive]] |url=https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/news/20010430/ |access-date=14 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501181454/https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/news/20010430/ |archive-date=1 May 2024}}</ref> These actions would be blamed on Cuba, and would be a pretext for an invasion of Cuba and the overthrow of [[Fidel Castro]]'s communist government. It was authorised by the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]], but then rejected by President [[John F. Kennedy]]. The surprise discovery of the documents relating to Operation Northwoods was a result of the comprehensive search for records related to the [[assassination of President John F. Kennedy]] by the [[Assassination Records Review Board]] in the mid-1990s.<ref>{{cite book |last=P. Horne |first=Douglas |title=Inside the Assassination Records Review Board: The U.S. Government's Final Attempt to Reconcile the Conflicting Medical Evidence in the Assassination of JFK |publisher=self-published |year=2009 |isbn=978-0984314447 |url=https://www.maryferrell.org/wiki/index.php/Inside_the_ARRB |access-date=30 October 2018}}</ref> Information about Operation Northwoods was later publicized by [[James Bamford]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Bamford |first=James |title=Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency |title-link=Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency |publisher=Anchor Books |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-385-49907-1 |pages=82–91 |chapter-url=}}</ref>

===Russian invasion of Ukraine===
In January and February 2022, U.S. officials warned that Russian operatives were planning a false flag operation in Ukraine in order to justify a military intervention.<ref>{{cite web |last=Walton |first=Calder |title=False-Flag Invasions Are a Russian Specialty |date=4 February 2022 |language=en-US |website=Foreign Policy |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/04/false-flag-invasions-are-a-russian-specialty/ |access-date=2022-03-14}}</ref> In the days leading up to the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February]], the Russian government intensified its [[Russian disinformation|disinformation campaign]], with Russian state media promoting false flags on a nearly hourly basis purporting to show Ukrainian forces attacking Russia, in a bid to justify an invasion of Ukraine.<ref name="ViceDisinfo">{{cite web |last=Gilbert |first=David |title=Russia's 'Idiotic' Disinformation Campaign Could Still Lead to War in Ukraine |date=21 February 2022 |publisher=[[Vice Media]] |website=[[Vice News]] |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/russia-disinformation-campaign-bombing-ukraine/ |access-date=22 February 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221194550/https://www.vice.com/en/article/88gdj3/russia-disinformation-campaign-bombing-ukraine |archive-date=21 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Four Russian false flags that are comically easy to debunk |date=21 February 2022 |website=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/02/21/five-russian-false-flags-comically-easy-debunk/ |access-date=22 February 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222050443/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/02/21/five-russian-false-flags-comically-easy-debunk/ |archive-date=22 February 2022}}</ref> Many of the disinformation videos were poor and amateur in quality, with mismatching [[metadata]] showing incorrect dates,<ref name=":0"/> and evidence from [[Bellingcat]] researchers and other independent journalists showed that the claimed attacks, explosions, and evacuations in [[Donbas]] were staged by Russia.<ref name="ViceDisinfo"/><ref name=":0"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Russia says it prevented border breach from Ukraine, Kyiv calls it fake news |date=21 February 2022 |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-it-prevented-border-breach-ukraine-kyiv-calls-it-fake-news-2022-02-21/ |access-date=21 February 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221131855/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-it-prevented-border-breach-ukraine-kyiv-calls-it-fake-news-2022-02-21/ |archive-date=21 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Bellingcat Investigation Team |title=Documenting and Debunking Dubious Footage from Ukraine's Frontlines |date=23 February 2022 |work=[[Bellingcat]] |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2022/02/23/documenting-and-debunking-dubious-footage-from-ukraines-frontlines/ |access-date=24 February 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223204058/https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2022/02/23/documenting-and-debunking-dubious-footage-from-ukraines-frontlines/ |archive-date=23 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title='Dumb and lazy': the flawed films of Ukrainian 'attacks' made by Russia's 'fake factory' |date=21 February 2022 |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/21/dumb-and-lazy-the-flawed-films-of-ukrainian-attacks-made-by-russias-fake-factory |access-date=22 February 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221235946/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/21/dumb-and-lazy-the-flawed-films-of-ukrainian-attacks-made-by-russias-fake-factory |archive-date=21 February 2022}}</ref>

==As a tactic to undermine political opponents==

===Operation TPAJAX===
{{Main|1953 Iranian coup d'état}}
On 4 April 1953, the [[CIA]] was ordered to undermine the government of Iran over a four-month period, as a precursor to overthrowing Prime Minister [[Mohammad Mosaddegh]]. One tactic used to undermine Mosaddegh was to carry out false flag attacks "on mosques and key public figures", to be blamed on Iranian communists loyal to the government.<ref name="Callanan2009">{{cite book |last=Callanan |first=James |title=Covert Action in the Cold War: US Policy, Intelligence and CIA Operations |date=30 November 2009 |publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]] |isbn=978-0857711663 |location=London |pages=115}}</ref>

The CIA operation was code-named [[TPAJAX]]. The tactic of a "directed campaign of bombings by Iranians posing as members of the Communist party" involved the bombing of "at least one" well known Muslim's house by CIA agents posing as Communists.<ref name="Risen2000">{{cite news |last=Risen |first=James |title=SECRETS OF HISTORY: The C.I.A. in Iran — A Special Report; How a Plot Convulsed Iran in '53 (and in '79) |date=2000-04-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/16/world/secrets-history-cia-iran-special-report-plot-convulsed-iran-53-79.html?src=pm&pagewanted=1 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-08-14 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722014228/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/16/world/secrets-history-cia-iran-special-report-plot-convulsed-iran-53-79.html?src=pm&pagewanted=1 |archive-date=22 July 2016}}</ref> The CIA determined that the tactic of false flag attacks added to the "positive outcome" of [[TPAJAX]].<ref name="Callanan2009"/>

However, as "the C.I.A. burned nearly all of its files on its role in the 1953 coup in Iran", the true extent of the tactic has been difficult for historians to discern.<ref>{{cite news |last=Weiner |first=Tim |title=C.I.A. Destroyed Files on 1953 Iran Coup |date=1997-05-29 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/29/us/cia-destroyed-files-on-1953-iran-coup.html |access-date=2024-08-14 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116101540/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/29/us/cia-destroyed-files-on-1953-iran-coup.html |archive-date=16 November 2020}}</ref>

===Operation Susannah===
{{Main|Lavon Affair}}
In the summer of 1954, a group of Egyptian Jews recruited by Israeli army intelligence were caught with plans to bomb American, British, and Egyptian civil targets in Egypt. The bombs were timed to detonate several hours after closing time. The bombings were to be blamed on the [[Muslim Brotherhood]], Egyptian [[Communists]], "unspecified malcontents", or "local nationalists", with the aim of creating a climate of sufficient violence and instability to induce the British government to refrain from evacuating its troops occupying Egypt's [[Suez Canal]] zone, a move that would embolden [[Egyptian President]] [[Gamal Abdel Nasser|Nasser]] against Israel. However, the plot was exposed before launch and Egyptian authorities tailed an operative to his target, arrest him, and later search his apartment where the entire plan, including the names of other agents and explosive materials, was held. Unknown to Israel Prime Minister [[Moshe Sharet]], the exposé caused a scandal in Israel, with Israeli officials blaming one another for the operation and the Israeli defense minister, [[Pinhas Lavon]], resigning under pressure. Later, two investigative committees found that Lavon was unaware of the operation.<ref>{{cite book |title=The encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli conflict: a political, social, and military history |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2008 |page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaarab00tuck/page/n685 610] |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaarab00tuck |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref name="BlackMorris1992">{{cite book |title=Israel's secret wars: a history of Israel's intelligence services |last1=Black |first1=Ian |last2=Morris |first2=Benny |date=1 June 1992 |publisher=Grove Press |isbn=978-0-8021-3286-4 |page=111 |author-link1=Ian Black (journalist) |author-link2=Benny Morris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WFm21j2sZBAC |access-date=19 June 2011}}</ref><ref name="Teveth">{{cite book |title=Ben-Gurion's spy: the story of the political scandal that shaped modern Israel |author=S. Teveth |date=1996 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-10464-7 |page=81}}</ref>

==Failed operations==
Due to its deceptive nature a false flag operation can fail in such a manner as to implicate the perpetrator rather than the intended victim.

A notable example is an April 2022 [[Federal Security Service|FSB]] operation where would-be Ukrainian assassins of Russian propagandist [[Vladimir Solovyov (TV presenter)|Vladimir Solovyov]] were filmed while being arrested. The footage published by the FSB was, however, found to implicate the FSB as having staged the arrest. Together with weapons, drugs, Ukrainian passports, and Nazi memorabilia the footage also prominently showed three expansion packs for ''[[The Sims 3]]'' video game. Investigative journalist [[Eliot Higgins]] interpreted this to mean that the arrest was in fact staged, with its organizers misunderstanding an instruction "to get 3 [[SIM card|SIMs]]". Further lending credence to the arrest being staged was footage of a note with a Russian phrase, which in fact read ''signature unclear''. This was again interpreted as a misunderstood instruction, this time taken too literally. The FSB subsequently published a version of the footage with the Sims games blurred out.<ref>{{cite news |last=Teh |first=Cheryl |title=Journalists mocked Russia's spy agency after copies of the 'Sims 3' video game were spotted in a clip of agents allegedly foiling an assassination plot |date=2022-04-26 |work=[[Business Insider]] |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-agents-the-sims-video-game-sting-operation-2022-4 |access-date=2024-08-14}}</ref><ref name="WaPo">{{cite news |last1=Klimentov |first1=Mikhail |title=Alleged Russian sting operation uncovers 'The Sims 3,' guns, grenade |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/04/26/russian-assassination-sims-3/ |access-date=14 August 2024}}</ref><ref name="vice">{{cite web |last1=Childs |first1=Simon |title=Russia Bizarrely Includes Sims 3 Among Evidence of 'Staged' Assassination Plot |date=26 April 2022 |publisher=[[Vice Media]] |website=vice.com |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/russia-sims-3/?utm_source=motherboard_twitter |access-date=14 August 2024}}</ref>

==Pseudo-operations==
Pseudo-operations are those in which forces of one power disguise themselves as enemy forces. For example, a state power may disguise teams of operatives as insurgents and, with the aid of defectors, infiltrate insurgent areas.<ref name="Cline">Cline, Lawrence E. (2005) [http://www.blackwaterusa.com/btw2005/articles/080105counter.pdf ''Pseudo Operations and Counterinsurgency: Lessons from other countries''], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116130502/http://www.blackwaterusa.com/btw2005/articles/080105counter.pdf |date=16 November 2016}}, [[Strategic Studies Institute]].</ref> The aim of such pseudo-operations may be to gather short- or long-term [[intelligence]] or to engage in active operations, in particular [[assassination]]s of important enemies. However, they usually involve both, as the risks of exposure rapidly increase with time and intelligence gathering eventually leads to violent confrontation. Pseudo-operations may be directed by military or police forces, or both. Police forces are usually best suited to intelligence tasks; however, military provide the structure needed to back up such pseudo-ops with military response forces. According to US military expert Lawrence Cline (2005), "the teams typically have been controlled by police services, but this largely was due to the weaknesses in the respective military intelligence systems."<ref>{{cite web |title=Excerpt – Pseudo Operations and Counterinsurgency: Lessons from Other Countries |website=ssi.armywarcollege.edu |url=https://ssi.armywarcollege.edu/pubs/summary.cfm?q=607 |access-date=2019-10-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502082323/http://ssi.armywarcollege.edu/pubs/summary.cfm?q=607 |archive-date=2 May 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Charlemagne Péralte.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Charlemagne Péralte]] of Haiti was assassinated in 1919 after checkpoints were passed by military disguised as guerrilla fighters.]]
The [[State Political Directorate]] (OGPU) of the [[Soviet Union]] set up such an operation from 1921 to 1926. During [[Operation Trust]], they used loose networks of [[White Army]] supporters and extended them, creating the pseudo-"Monarchist Union of Central Russia" (MUCR) in order to help the OGPU identify real monarchists and anti-Bolsheviks.<ref name=":11">{{cite book |last1=Andrew |first1=Christopher |title=The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB |date=2001 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=0-465-00312-5 |pages=33–35, 42 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l0g8Q14NPisC}}</ref>

An example of a successful assassination was [[United States Marine]] [[Sergeant]] [[Herman H. Hanneken]] leading a patrol of his [[Haiti]]an [[Gendarmerie]] disguised as enemy [[guerrilla]]s in 1919. The patrol successfully passed several enemy checkpoints in order to assassinate the guerilla leader [[Charlemagne Péralte]] near [[Grande-Rivière-du-Nord]]. Hanneken was awarded the [[Medal of Honor]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Ex-Marine Corps Gen. Hanneken Dies |date=1986-08-27 |work=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |issn=0458-3035 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-08-27-me-14249-story.html |access-date=2017-11-07}}</ref> and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant for his deed.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

During the [[Mau Mau Uprising|Mau Mau uprising]] in the 1950s, captured Mau Mau members who switched sides and specially trained British troops initiated the pseudo-gang concept to successfully counter Mau Mau. In 1960, [[Frank Kitson]], who was later involved in the [[The Troubles|Northern Irish conflict]], published ''Gangs and Counter-gangs'', an account of his experiences with the technique in [[Kenya]]. Information included how to counter gangs and measures of deception, including the use of defectors, which brought the issue a wider audience.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

Another example of combined police and military oversight of pseudo-operations include the [[Selous Scouts]] in the former country [[Rhodesia]] (now [[Zimbabwe]]), governed by [[white minority rule]] until 1980. The Selous Scouts were formed at the beginning of [[Operation Hurricane]], in November 1973, by Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) [[Ronald Reid-Daly]]. As with all Special Forces in Rhodesia, by 1977, they were controlled by COMOPS (Commander, Combined Operations) Commander Lieutenant General [[Peter Walls]]. The Selous Scouts were originally composed of 120 members, with all officers being white and the highest rank initially available for black soldiers being [[colour sergeant]]. They succeeded in turning approximately 800 insurgents who were then paid by Special Branch, ultimately reaching the number of 1,500 members. Engaging mainly in long-range reconnaissance and surveillance missions, they increasingly turned to offensive actions, including the attempted assassination of [[Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army]] leader [[Joshua Nkomo]] in [[Zambia]]. This mission was finally aborted by the Selous Scouts, and attempted again, unsuccessfully, by the [[Rhodesian Special Air Service]].<ref>Cline (2005), p. 11.</ref>

Some offensive operations attracted international condemnation, in particular the Selous Scouts' raid on a [[Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army]] (ZANLA) camp at Nyadzonya Pungwe, [[Mozambique]] in August 1976. ZANLA was then led by [[Josiah Tongogara]]. Using Rhodesian trucks and armored cars disguised as Mozambique military vehicles, 84 scouts killed 1,284 people in the camp, registered as a [[refugee camp]] by the [[United Nations]] (UN). Even according to Reid-Daly, most of those killed were unarmed guerrillas standing in formation for a parade. The camp hospital was also set ablaze by the rounds fired by the Scouts, killing all patients.<ref>Cline (2005), quoting Reid-Daly, ''Pamwe Chete: The Legend of the Selous Scouts'', Weltevreden Park, South Africa: [[Covos-Day]] Books, 1999, p. 10 (republished by Covos Day, 2001, {{ISBN|978-1-919874-33-3}}).</ref> According to David Martin and Phyllis Johnson, who visited the camp shortly before the raid, it was only a refugee camp that did not host any guerrillas. It was staged for UN approval.<ref>Cline (2005), who quotes David Martin and Phyllis Johnson, ''The Struggle for Zimbabwe: the Chimurenga War'', New York: Monthly Review Press, 1981, pp. 241–242.</ref>

According to a 1978 study by the Directorate of Military Intelligence, 68% of all insurgent deaths inside Rhodesia could be attributed to the Selous Scouts, who were disbanded in 1980.<ref>Cline (2005), pp. 8–13. For 1978 study, quotes J. K. Cilliers, ''Counter-insurgency in Rhodesia'', London: [[Croom Helm]], 1985, pp. 60–77. Cline also quotes Ian F. W. Beckett, ''The Rhodesian Army: Counter-Insurgency 1972–1979'' at [http://members.tripod.com/selousscouts/ selousscouts].</ref>

If the action is a police action, then these tactics would fall within the laws of the state initiating the pseudo, but if such actions are taken in a [[civil war]] or during a [[belligerent military occupation]] then those who participate in such actions would not be [[privileged belligerent]]s. The principle of [[plausible deniability]] is usually applied for pseudo-teams. (See the above section [[#Laws of war|Laws of war]]){{clarify |date=December 2024 |reason=This links to a non-existing section.}}. Some false flag operations have been described by Lawrence E. Cline, a retired [[US Army intelligence]] officer, as pseudo-operations, or "the use of organized teams which are disguised as guerrilla groups for long- or short-term penetration of [[insurgency|insurgent]]-controlled areas".<ref name="Cline"/>

"Pseudo-operations should be distinguished," notes Cline, "from the more common police or intelligence [[espionage|infiltration]] of guerrilla or criminal organizations. In the latter case, infiltration is normally done by individuals. Pseudo teams, on the other hand, are formed as needed from organized units, usually military or [[paramilitary]]. The use of pseudo teams has been a hallmark of a number of foreign [[counterinsurgency]] campaigns."<ref name="Cline"/>

Similar false flag tactics were also employed during the [[Algerian Civil War]], starting in the middle of 1994. [[Death squad]]s composed of [[Département du Renseignement et de la Sécurité]] (DRS) security forces disguised themselves as Islamist terrorists and committed false flag terror attacks. Such groups included the [[Organisation of Young Free Algerians]] (OJAL) or the Secret Organisation for the Safeguard of the Algerian Republic (OSSRA).<ref>Lounis Aggoun and Jean-Baptiste Rivoire (2004). ''Françalgérie, crimes et mensonges d'Etats'', (Franco-Algeria, Crimes and Lies of the States). {{ill|Editions La Découverte|fr|La Découverte}}. {{ISBN|2-7071-4747-8}}. Extract in English with mention of the OJAL [http://www.algeria-watch.org/en/analyses/ojal.htm available here].</ref> According to [[Roger Faligot]] and Pascal Kropp (1999), the OJAL was reminiscent of "the Organization of the French Algerian Resistance (ORAF), a group of counter-terrorists created in December 1956 by the [[Direction de la surveillance du territoire]] (Territorial Surveillance Directorate, or DST) whose mission was to carry out terrorist attacks with the aim of quashing any hopes of political compromise".<ref>Luonis Aggoun and Jean-Baptiste Rivoire, ''ibid.'', quoting [[Roger Faligot]] and Pascal KROP, ''DST, Police Secrète'', [[Groupe Flammarion|Flammarion]], 1999, p. 174.</ref>

==Espionage==
{{Main|Clandestine human intelligence#False Flag Penetrator|l1=False flag penetrator}}
In [[espionage]], the term "false flag" describes the recruiting of agents by operatives posing as representatives of a cause the prospective agents are sympathetic to, or even the agents' own government. For example, during the [[Cold War]], several female [[West Germany|West German]] civil servants were tricked into stealing classified documents by agents of the [[East Germany|East German]] ''[[Stasi]]'' intelligence service pretending to be members of West German peace advocacy groups (the ''Stasi'' agents were also described as "[[Romeo and Juliet|Romeos]]", indicating that they also used their sex appeal to manipulate their targets, making this operation a combination of the false flag and "[[recruitment of spies#Love, honeypots, and recruitment|honey trap]]" techniques).<ref>{{cite news |last=Crawford |first=Angus |title=Victims of Cold War 'Romeo spies' |work=[[BBC Online]] |date=20 March 2009 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7953523.stm |access-date=10 April 2009}}</ref>

According to ex-KGB defector [[Jack Barsky]], "Many a right-wing radical had given information to the Soviets under a 'false flag', thinking they were working with a Western ally, such as Israel, when in fact their contact was a KGB operative."<ref>{{cite book |last=Barsky |first=Jack |title=Deep undercover: my secret life and tangled allegiances as a KGB spy in America |date=2017 |isbn=978-1-4964-1686-5 |publisher=Tyndale House |location=Carol Stream, IL |oclc=979545331 |url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/979545331}}</ref>

==Militant usage==
False flag operations are also utilized by [[non-state actor]]s and [[terrorism|terrorist]] organizations. During the [[Operation Blue Star|Indian security forces siege prior to the storming of the Golden Temple]], [[Babbar Khalsa]] militants allegedly infiltrated buildings between CRPF lines and the positions of pro-[[Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale|Bhindranwale]] militants and fired in both directions in the hope of provoking firefights. This was allegedly done as a result of Babbar Khalsa leader Bibi Amarjit Kaur blaming Bhindranwale for the death of her husband, Fauja Singh, during the [[1978 Sikh–Nirankari clash|1978 Sikh-Nirankari clashe.]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Backgrounder, Punjab |website=satp.org |url=https://www.satp.org/backgrounder/india-punjab |access-date=2025-01-22}}</ref>

On October 5, 1987, [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam|LTTE]] fighters infiltrated between [[Indian Peace Keeping Force|IPKF]] and [[Sri Lanka Army|Sri Lankan army]] positions in the [[Kankesanthurai|Kankesanturai]] area and provoked a firefight between the two forces as part of the revenge operations in retaliation for the suicide in custody of 15 LTTE leaders who were about to be handed into Sri Lankan custody.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chapter 2: Accord, Airlift and Discord |date=2009-10-05 |language=en-US |website=Bharat Rakshak |url=https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/iaf/history/1987ipkf/chapter02/ |access-date=2025-01-22}}</ref>

==Civilian usage==
The term is popular among [[conspiracy theory]] promoters in referring to [[covert operation]]s of various governments and claimed [[cabal]]s.<ref>{{cite news |last=Usckinski |first=Joseph |title=Five things to know about 'false flag' conspiracy theories |date=27 October 2018 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/10/27/false-flag-theories-about-the-mail-bombs-are-already-widespread-here-are-5-things-to-know-about-conspiracy-theorists/ |access-date=9 June 2020}}</ref> According to ''[[Columbia Journalism Review]]'', this usage mostly "migrated to the right", however because some historical false flag incidents occurred, historians should not fully cede the usage of the term to conspiracy theorists. Perlman says "The real danger is if we use the nonattributive 'false flags' as shorthand for conspiracy theories, without explaining what they are and who is promoting them." At the same time, Perlman writes that "people yelling that any attack attributed to someone on 'their side' was committed by 'the other side' drown out the voices of reason."<ref name="cjr">{{cite web |title=How the term 'false flag' migrated to the right |language=en |website=Columbia Journalism Review |url=https://www.cjr.org/language_corner/false-flags.php |access-date=2021-12-23}}</ref>

==Political campaigning==
Political campaigning has a long history of this tactic in various forms, including in person, print media and electronically in recent years. This can involve when supporters of one candidate pose as supporters of another, or act as "[[straw man|straw men]]" for their preferred candidate to debate against. This can happen with or without the candidate's knowledge. The [[Canuck letter]] is an example of one candidate's creating a false document and attributing it as coming from another candidate in order to discredit that candidate.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

In 2006, individuals practicing false flag behavior were discovered and "outed" in [[New Hampshire]]<ref>Steele, Allison, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070312100830/http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20060926%2FREPOSITORY%2F609260344%2F1219%2F48HOURS "''Bass staffer in D.C. poses as blogger: Bogus posts aimed at his political opponent''"]{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312100830/http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20060926%2FREPOSITORY%2F609260344%2F1219%2F48HOURS |date=12 March 2007}}, [[Concord Monitor]], 26 September 2006 (URL last accessed 24 October 2006).</ref><ref>Saunders, Anne, [http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2006/09/26/rep_bass_aide_posed_as_opponents_supporter_on_blogs/ ''"Bass aide resigns after posing as opponent's supporter online"''], [[The Boston Globe]], 26 September 2006 (URL last accessed 24 October 2006).</ref> and [[New Jersey]]<ref>Miller, Jonathan, [https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0712FD3A550C728EDDA00894DE404482 ''"Blog Thinks Aide to Kean Posted Jabs At Menendez"''], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 21 September 2006 (URL last accessed 24 October 2006).</ref> after [[blog]] comments claiming to be from supporters of a political candidate were traced to the [[IP address]] of paid staffers for that candidate's opponent.

On 19 February 2011, Indiana Deputy Prosecutor Carlos Lam sent a private email to Wisconsin Governor [[Scott Walker (politician)|Scott Walker]] suggesting that he run a "'false flag' operation" to counter the [[2011 Wisconsin protests|protests]] against Walker's proposed restrictions on public employees' [[collective bargaining]] rights:

{{Blockquote|If you could employ an associate who pretends to be sympathetic to the unions' cause to physically attack you (or even use a firearm against you), you could discredit the unions{{spaces}}... Employing a false flag operation would assist in undercutting any support the media may be creating in favor of the unions.<ref name="WisWatchLam">{{cite web |title=Indiana prosecutor resigns over Walker email |publisher=Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism |work=WisWatch.org |date=March 24, 2011 |author=Golden, Kate |url=http://wisconsinwatch.org/2011/03/email-to-walker-suggested-faking-attack-on-governor/ |access-date=June 21, 2016}}</ref><ref name="CBSLam"/>}}

The press had acquired a court order to access all of Walker's emails and Lam's email was exposed. At first, Lam vehemently denied it, but eventually admitted it and resigned.<ref name="CBSLam">{{cite news |work=CBS News |last=Montopoli |first=Brian |title=Indiana prosecutor resigns for encouraging fake attack on Wisconsin governor |date=25 March 2011 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/indiana-prosecutor-resigns-for-encouraging-fake-attack-on-wisconsin-governor/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412225147/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20047130-503544.html |archive-date=12 April 2012}}</ref>

Some conservative commentators suggested that [[October 2018 United States mail bombing attempts|pipe bombs that were sent to prominent Democrats prior to the 2018 mid-term elections]] were part of a false flag effort to discredit Republicans and supporters of then-President Donald Trump.<ref name="nbc1">{{cite web |last1=Collins |first1=Ben |last2=Abbruzzese |first2=Jason |title=After 'false flag' narrative takes hold, some conservatives scramble to drown out far right |date=26 October 2018 |publisher=[[NBC News]] |website=nbcnews.com |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/after-false-flag-narrative-takes-hold-some-conservatives-scramble-drown-n924991 |access-date=9 July 2021}}</ref> Cesar Sayoc, motivated by his belief that Democrats were "evil", was later convicted of mailing the devices to Trump's critics.<ref name=sentence>{{cite news |title=Cesar Sayoc, who mailed explosive devices to Trump's critics, sentenced to 20 years in prison |date=August 5, 2019 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/cesar-sayoc-who-mailed-explosive-devices-to-trumps-critics-sentenced-to-20-years-in-prison/2019/08/05/cf4b56e2-b79a-11e9-bad6-609f75bfd97f_story.html |access-date=August 7, 2019}}</ref>

On the internet, a [[concern troll]] is a false flag [[pseudonym]] created by a user whose actual [[perspective (cognitive)|point of view]] is opposed to the one that the troll claims to hold. The concern troll posts in web forums devoted to its declared point of view and attempts to sway the group's actions or opinions while claiming to [[ingroup bias|share their goals]], but with professed "concerns". The goal is to sow [[fear, uncertainty, and doubt]] within the group often by appealing to [[outrage culture]].<ref name="timemag">{{cite magazine |last=Cox |first=Ana Marie |title=Making Mischief on the Web |date=16 December 2006 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570701,00.html |access-date=24 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070113090041/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570701,00.html |archive-date=13 January 2007}}</ref> This is a particular case of [[sockpuppet (Internet)|sockpuppeting]] and [[safe-bait]]ing.

During the [[2025 Canadian federal election]] campaign, [[Liberal Party of Canada]] strategists were exposed after their false flag operation failed. A [[CBC News]] journalist who was speaking with Liberal staff at a bar in [[Ottawa]] learned how "Stop the Steal" buttons were placed at a [[Conservative Party of Canada]] event. The operatives hoped attendees would wear them, which would allow Liberals to publicly conflate Conservative supporters and leader [[Pierre Poilievre]] with [[Donald J. Trump]]. After the false flag mission was reported by the journalist, Liberal leader, [[Mark Carney]], reassigned those involved.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McKenna |first=Kate |date=April 13, 2025 |title=Liberal operatives planted 'stop the steal' buttons at conservative conference |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberal-oppo-csfn-1.7509217 |access-date=May 25, 2025 |website=www.cbc.ca}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/14/canada-liberals-stop-the-steal-buttons | title=Liberal staffers plant 'stop the steal' pins at Canadian conservative conference | work=The Guardian | last1=Gedeon | first1=Joseph | date=14 April 2025 }}</ref>

===Ideological===
[[File:Cooper bomb threat.gif|thumb|A bomb threat forged by Scientology operatives.]]
Proponents of political or religious ideologies will sometimes use false flag tactics. This can be done to discredit or implicate rival groups, create the appearance of enemies when none exist, or create the illusion of organized and directed persecution. This can be used to gain attention and sympathy from outsiders, in particular the media, or to convince others within the group that their beliefs are under attack and in need of protection.

In retaliation for writing ''[[The Scandal of Scientology]]'', some members of the Church of [[Scientology]] stole stationery from author [[Paulette Cooper]]'s home and then used that stationery to forge bomb threats and have them mailed to a Scientology office. The [[Guardian's Office]] also had a plan for further operations to discredit Cooper known as [[Operation Freakout]], but several Scientology operatives were arrested in a separate investigation and the plan was exposed.<ref>[[s:United States of America v. Jane Kember, Morris Budlong, Sentencing Memorandum|United States of America v. Jane Kember, Morris Budlong, Sentencing Memorandum]]; pp. 23–25.</ref>

According to ''[[PolitiFact]]'', some false flag conspiracy theories (such as claims that mass shootings are hoaxes) are themselves spread by [[astroturfing]], which is an attempt to create false impression of popularity in a belief.<ref>{{cite web |title=Why do some people think mass shootings are staged every time? |date=2019 |language=en-US |website=politifact |url=https://www.politifact.com/article/2019/aug/08/why-do-some-people-think-mass-shootings-are-staged/}}</ref>

==See also==

===Concepts===
<!--♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order ♦♦♦-->
* [[Agent provocateur]]
* [[Black propaganda]]
* [[Casus belli]]
* [[Denial and deception]]
* [[Fearmongering]]
* [[Frameup]]
* [[Front organization]]
* [[Joe job]], a similar online concept
* [[Mimicry]]
* [[Red herring]]
* [[State terrorism]]
* [[Strategy of tension]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Wiktionary-inline|false flag}}

{{Misinformation}}
{{Espionage}}
{{Intelligence cycle management}}
{{Media manipulation}}
{{Military deception}}

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:False flag operations| ]]
[[Category:Deception]]
[[Category:Diversionary tactics]]
[[Category:Flag controversies]]
[[Category:Flag practices]]
[[Category:History of flags]]
[[Category:Intelligence operations by type]]
[[Category:Law of war]]
[[Category:Military deception]]
[[Category:Piracy]]
[[Category:Propaganda techniques]]
[[Category:Psychological warfare techniques]]
[[Category:16th-century neologisms]]