Image is From Florida Keys, Not Pearl Harbor
The Claim
An image depicts a diver replacing an American flag at Pearl Harbor.
News posted on
Emerging story
The claim took off in late April 2021, with hundreds of social media users posting the image with a caption about Pearl Harbor.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found that the image is actually from the Florida Keys. We conducted a reverse image search and found that the image and similar were first published in X-Ray Mag, an international diving magazine.
The image depicts a flag hanging from the Vandenberg wreck, an intentionally sunk ship that is now an artificial reef. According to CBS: “The 30- by 40-foot flag, formerly flew at a Morris, Illinois, memorial park for Sept. 11, 2001, New York City terrorists' attack victims. But the flag was scheduled for retirement after being badly tattered by weather. It was to be retired after being tattered by weather, but Morris attorney Scott Belt conceived the idea of mending the flag and unfurling it on the Vandenberg.”
Since the image depicts the Florida Keys and not Pearl Harbor, we rate this claim as false.
