Este artículo estará disponible en español en El Tiempo Latino.
Fast Take
Protesters towards the battle in Gaza raised three Palestinian flags on the Harvard College campus on April 27. Social media posts misleadingly claimed the college “changed the American flag with the Palestinian flag.” The Palestinian flags have been eliminated by Harvard employees shortly after they have been raised by the protesters.
Full Story
The rising toll of the battle within the Gaza Strip, which started after the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, has sparked pupil protests on college campuses throughout the USA. About 1,200 Israelis have been killed within the preliminary assault, about 250 individuals have been taken hostage, and greater than 250 Israeli troopers have died within the ensuing battle. In Gaza, greater than 33,700 Palestinians have died because of retaliatory strikes by Israeli forces as of April 15, according to United Nations data, primarily based on Gaza Ministry of Well being reporting, compiled by Statista.
Students protesting the continuing battle in Gaza have held largely peaceable however tense demonstrations and sit-ins and have arrange encampments on campuses. School officers have typically responded with suspensions and expulsions, and police have arrested a whole bunch of scholars for trespassing or failure to disperse.
However the official response by Harvard College — the place then-President Claudine Homosexual resigned in January amid conservative criticism of her dealing with of the protests and accusations of plagiarism — has been misrepresented on social media.
An April 28 post on Fb misleadingly claims, “Harvard has REPLACED the American flag with the Palestinian flag. As soon as Harvard and now Hamas College.” A 36-second video within the publish reveals a number of individuals elevating a Palestinian flag over a statue of Seventeenth-century school benefactor John Harvard on the campus.
Conservative commentator Graham Allen shared an identical message in an April 28 post on X, including, “They’re instructing college students to HATE America. Pull their funding.” Allen’s publish obtained greater than 5 million views, in keeping with the platform.
The college, nonetheless, didn’t hoist the Palestinian flag, because the posts declare.
Three Palestinian flags have been raised by protesters on April 27 over the John Harvard statue, the Harvard Crimson reported. The primary flag was raised at 6 p.m., the second at 6:18 p.m. and the third at 6:23 p.m.
College employees have been known as to take away the flags shortly after 6:30 p.m., the Boston Globe reported.
A spokesperson for the college emailed an announcement to us saying, “The flags raised by protesters over College Corridor have been eliminated by Harvard amenities employees. The protesters’ actions are a violation of College coverage and the people concerned shall be topic to disciplinary motion.”
The statement, launched on April 27, didn’t say what disciplinary motion was being thought of.
The Harvard assertion additionally stated, “The American flag was not flying on College Corridor on the time the opposite flags have been raised. College procedures are that the American flag is raised on College Corridor every Monday by way of Friday at 7am and lowered at 4pm for correct storage.”
Editor’s be aware: FactCheck.org is considered one of a number of organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our earlier tales might be discovered here. Fb has no control over our editorial content material.
Sources
Andone, Dakin. “How universities are cracking down on a swell of tension months into student protests over Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.” CNN. 29 Apr 2024.
Berger, Ava. “Palestinian flags raised in Harvard Yard over the weekend spark outrage.” Boston Globe. 29 Apr 2024.
Federman, Josef and Issam Adwan. “Hamas surprise attack out of Gaza stuns Israel and leaves hundreds dead in fighting, retaliation.” Related Press. 7 Oct 2023.
Harvard College. E mail from spokesperson. 30 Apr 2024.
Harvard College. “Statement Apr. 27.” 27 Apr 2024.
Hung, Madeleine A. and Joyce E. Kim. “Encampment Protesters Briefly Raise 3 Palestinian Flags Over Harvard Yard.” The Harvard Crimson. 27 Apr 2024.
Jeffery, Jack and Josef Federman. “Hamas releases video showing well-known Israeli-American hostage.” Related Press. 24 Apr 2024.
Schuessler, Jennifer, et al. “Harvard President Resigns After Mounting Plagiarism Accusations.” New York Occasions. Up to date 3 Jan 2024.
Statista. “Number of Palestinian and Israeli fatalities and injuries caused by war between Hamas and Israel since October 7, 2023.” Accessed 30 Apr 2024.
