A Somali-born Oregon lawmaker faced difficult questions from reporters after appearing to deliver a speech with an American flag hanging upside down behind her.
Nafisa Fai, a Washington County commissioner, drew widespread attention after video showed her speaking at a Minnesota event on October 10 as the US flag in the background appeared to be inverted.
The US Flag Code recognizes an inverted American flag as a distress signal indicating extreme danger. In recent years, the image has also been used as a form of political protest directed at the United States.
The footage triggered a wave of criticism online, with opponents accusing Fai of being “un-American.” Some conservative social media accounts even called for the Somali-born official to be deported.
The Oregon Journalism Project initially pushed back against those claims, publishing a report that described screenshots of Fai speaking before the inverted flag as “deepfakes.” The outlet also published what it presented as an authentic image showing the flag displayed correctly.
The publication has since acknowledged that its replacement image was inaccurate. In an editor’s note, it said the available evidence “showed the flag at the Minneapolis event had in fact been upside down.”
The nonprofit said the incorrect image came from a “Fai campaign supporter” and apologized for publishing what it called an erroneous account of the incident.
The controversy intensified after footage showed Fai trying to move past questions from ABC affiliate KATU. Speaking to the station from the street, she said: “Everything my team and I received is everything that’s been circulating online. We didn’t produce or approve anything.”
Somali-born lawmaker Nafisa Fai, a Washington County commissioner in Oregon, came under scrutiny after video showed her speaking at a Minnesota event on October 10 with what appeared to be an upside-down American flag behind her.
After a report claiming the inverted flag footage was a “deepfake hoax” was discredited, Fai faced questions from reporters about the controversy and appeared to hurry away.
The Oregon Journalism Project’s original attempt to rebut the allegations was subsequently echoed by several other news organizations, which published similar accounts.
Several Democrats also defended Fai, accusing conservative social media users of racist motives in their criticism of the Oregon official and the upside-down flag claims.
Oregon Congresswoman Maxine Dexter described the allegations in a social media post as a “racist, disgusting attack” against Fai.
Dexter also called the episode “yet another example of how misleading and malignant AI deepfakes can be.”
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The Democratic Party of Oregon likewise condemned the claims, saying the episode was “one more reason AI needs to be regulated, to prevent bad actors from causing real harm through misinformation.”
After video evidence confirmed that Fai had spoken in front of the inverted flag, Axios said it retracted its report. The outlet said the original story had relied primarily on reporting from the Oregon Journalism Project.
Fai, who is campaigning to become chair of the Washington County Board of Commissioners in the November 3 election, sought to minimize the dispute in a statement issued Monday.
The “corrected” image showed the American flag hanging properly behind Fai. The photograph was reportedly supplied by a supporter of her campaign.
Nafisa Fai pictured with Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley is seeking the chair position on the Washington County Board of Commissioners in the November 3 election.
Fai pictured alongside Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar.
She told The Oregonian that she was unaware of the layout of the flag when she gave the speech.
‘On October 10th I was proud to speak at an event in Minnesota to inspire young people to choose a path of hard work as a way to better their lives and engage in their community,’ Fai said.
‘It’s unfortunate that message is being overshadowed by this divisive and dishonest political stunt.’
Oregon Live said Fai’s campaign claimed on Tuesday that her campaign did not send the ‘corrected’ image to the Oregon Journalism Project.
Fai told the outlet that she did not know how the flag was oriented, and insisted: ‘I love this country.’
‘I respect this country. This country has given me so much. I would never disrespect and intentionally stand in front of a flag that was expressing some message about mistrust.’
Fai did not respond to a request for further comment from Our News Outlet.
