Activist falsely claims pride flag endorses pedophilia

"It seems the 'Minor Attracted Person' colors are being added to the rainbow flag," says the caption of a May 24, 2023 Instagram post from Maj Toure, a Libertarian activist and rapper.

The post includes a video in which Toure talks about a rainbow flag at a "chain corporate coffee shop."

Pointing to blue, pink and white stripes, he says: "These colors right here seem to be a little strange. And this goes into what's called the minor-attracted person or youth-attracted person pedophile flag."

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Screenshot of an Instagram post taken June 12, 2023

The same video then circulated on TikTok with #protectkidsnotpredators.

But the claims are false -- the banner pictured in the video does not endorse pedophilia.

Activist and designer Daniel Quasar developed the Progress Pride Flag in 2018 (archived here).

"The white, pink and light blue comes from the trans pride flag," Quasar told AFP on June 9. "My use of those colors in the 'Progress Pride Flag' are one and the same as the trans flag served as inspiration for the design."

Activist Monica Helms designed the first transgender pride flag in 1999. It debuted the following year at an LGBTQ pride parade in Phoenix, Arizona.

Helms said in a 2015 interview (archived here) that the light pink and blue stripes symbolize the colors typically associated with girls and boys. She added a white stripe for "everybody else" outside of the "gender binary spectrum."

Quasar said those claiming the colors represent pedophiles are "trying to spin false narratives about my community."

Misinformation linking LGBTQ people to pedophilia and Satanism has spiked online during pride month, which the United States celebrates in June.

The American Psychological Association says pedophilia is a mental disorder, not a sexual orientation. And Arthur Leonard, a professor at New York Law School who specializes in LGBTQ rights, previously told AFP that "sex between adults and minors is outlawed in every jurisdiction in the United States."

More of AFP's reporting on misinformation about the LGBTQ community is available here.