Image of LGBTQ flags on Iran-Egypt World Cup pitch is altered
- Published on July 1, 2026 at 17:58
- 2 min read
- By Bill MCCARTHY, AFP USA
FIFA allowed LGBTQ flags inside the stadium as Iran and Egypt drew 1-1 in a 2026 World Cup game that local organizers in host city Seattle, Washington had designated as a "Pride Match." But an image purporting to show massive rainbow flags stretched across the pitch during the pregame ceremony is an altered fake.
"Seattle trolled Egypt and Iran so hard," says a June 27, 2026 post sharing the image on X.
Similar posts appeared across platforms, including Facebook, also circulating in Spanish and Arabic.
The image spread after Egypt escaped the June 26 match against Iran with a tie, after a goal that would have given Team Melli the lead in stoppage time was disallowed. The draw left Iran short of qualifying for the tournament's 32-team knockout stage, with Egypt joining Belgium in advancing from atop Group G.
Egyptian and Iranian officials both raised objections to pro-LGBTQ celebrations around the fixture, which Seattle authorities had decided would be included in the city's events celebrating Pride long before the World Cup draw revealed the teams involved.
Homosexuality is illegal in Iran under Islamic law and can be punishable by death. Egypt often penalizes it under vaguely worded laws prohibiting "debauchery."
FIFA reiterated ahead of the competition that rainbow flags were allowed in the stadium, and photos from the event showed some attendees holding them.
But the image spread across social media -- depicting the flags stretched across the field during the singing of each team's national anthem -- is manipulated.
The X user who first shared it wrote in a subsequent post: "This is fake btw it didn't happen it's edited."
OpenAI's image verification tool found the visual contained a SynthID -- the invisible watermark integrated from Google that the company is now using to embed signals in AI-generated media created with its platforms (archived here and here).
Reverse image searches also surfaced an unedited version of the picture, which a fan shared to X alongside several other posts documenting his experience at the game (archived here, here and here). "Flag pics from Egypt vs Iran in Seattle!" he wrote.
The original photo -- the second of three in the post -- shows the Egyptian and Iranian flags on display, not LGBTQ Pride flags.
Flags pics from Egypt vs Iran in Seattle! #FIFAWorldCuppic.twitter.com/13GxtwlXpM
— Chris (@chrisdigiusto) June 27, 2026
Additional photos distributed by AFP show the same scene.
AFP reviewed live broadcasts of the event from Fox Sports and Universo and verified that both also showed the two countries' flags on the pitch.
AFP has debunked other misinformation about the World Cup here.
Copyright © AFP 2017-2026. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.
Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.
Contact us
