# Oh no! Isis dildo flag **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 28, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708 "2015-06-28T16:25:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/1 "2015-06-28T16:25:18Z")
This is just precious.[CNN thinks pictures of dildos on a flag are Arabic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=82&v=5y6qTLf0AI4) :rolleyes:😛 ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/2 "2015-06-28T16:29:07Z")
This just in: Gays support ISIS and apparently Arabs have learned to write entirely in dildos. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/3 "2015-06-28T16:34:17Z")
I know no sane person reads youtube comments, so it is up to me to call attention to this comment: > [@](#): > > Justin Longo 17 hours ago (edited) > CNN once again plugging in speculative information. I guess without facts, it’s easier to simply fill in the holes. They should think long and hard before looking like a sucker again. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/4 "2015-06-28T16:37:36Z")
This just in: Neither of you listened to the clip. The reporter said distinctly “this is clearly not Arabic” but also is obviously meant to look like the ISIS flag. She just didn’t recognize that they were dildos. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/5 "2015-06-28T16:43:04Z")
Yes, because we all know ISIS is the great champion of gay rights in the Middle East. Other than being pointlessly provocative, I’d like to know what the waver was thinking. Kind of like making a Nazi or StarZNbars with little dildos on it
 ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/6 "2015-06-28T16:49:04Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Yes, because we all know ISIS is the great champion of gay rights in the Middle East. Other than being pointlessly provocative, I’d like to know what the waver was thinking. I think maybe he was giving a big “fuck you” to Isis. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/7 "2015-06-28T16:52:19Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I think maybe he was giving a big “fuck you” to Isis. Also to tell the locals “we are behind you” About 4000 KM behind you ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/8 "2015-06-28T17:11:29Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > This just in: Neither of you listened to the clip. > > The reporter said distinctly “this is clearly not Arabic” but also is obviously meant to look like the ISIS flag. She just didn’t recognize that they were dildos. Yup, watched didn’t listen (had hdmi cable plugged into laptop and didn’t feeling switching inputs on my tv). Still funny. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/10 "2015-06-28T17:18:09Z")
Wow. Fastest ban ever? Anywho, I understand the reporter’s “WTF??” though I got immediately that it was a fuck you to ISIS. I’m sure all the jihadists watching the gay pride coverage were suitably insulted. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/11 "2015-06-29T02:47:21Z")
With only a cursory glance at that flag it’s easy to except anyone to make the mistake. And I really think whoever made it was doing a disservice to their ‘cause’. It’s confusing, are they comparing their movement to something radical & eventually possibly violent?! Plus it isn’t really something you should use as a joke. Would you make a dildo swastika and expect most people to think it was funny?! Though in terms of giving muslim terrorists the finger, I do kind of like the idea of mocking their silly, moon-man scribblings with gay sex toys\*!!\* ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/12 "2015-06-29T07:48:31Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > With only a cursory glance at that flag it’s easy to except anyone to make the mistake. And I really think whoever made it was doing a disservice to their ‘cause’. It’s confusing, are they comparing their movement to something radical & eventually possibly violent?! Plus it isn’t really something you should use as a joke. Would you make a dildo swastika and expect most people to think it was funny?! > > Though in terms of giving muslim terrorists the finger, I do kind of like the idea of mocking their silly, moon-man scribblings with gay sex toys\*!!\* Have you looked at the flag? It’s reeeaallly obvious it’s not actually an Isis flag even if you don’t notice that it’s ildos and buttplugs and it’s also realy obvious that it’s taking the piss out of Isis. It’s not comparing the gay “movement” to anything. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/13 "2015-06-29T13:55:15Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Have you looked at the flag? It’s reeeaallly obvious it’s not actually an Isis flag even if you don’t notice that it’s ildos and buttplugs and it’s also realy obvious that it’s taking the piss out of Isis. It’s not comparing the gay “movement” to anything. Also, the person being interviewed in London said that no one at the parade seemed to be bothered by it, and no one thought to question why that was. CNN didn’t stop to think things through, they just wanted to be the first with the big news that apparently an ISIS supporter had invaded the London Pride Parade. Although I would bet money that there was an intern or camera person who recognized what the flag really showed but hates their job and their bosses and so didn’t say anything. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/14 "2015-06-29T14:03:31Z")
John Oliver did a piece on this last night. Not all that surprising for CNN, but even after considering it might be satire they couldn’t get the joke. Luckily they don’t want to comment on their stupid blunder because they’d likely publicize the guy’s name and get him killed. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/15 "2015-06-29T16:14:39Z")
Here’s a semi-serious, but mostly semi-satirical take on the story from Vox, worth a read: [CNN’s most embarrassing flub ever? The ISIS dildo gay pride flag, explained.](http://www.vox.com/2015/6/28/8857415/cnn-isis-dildo-gay-pride-flag) After mocking CNN relentlessly for the bulk of the article, the serious part comes toward the end: > [@](#): > > Mistakes happen — we at Vox have made our own — but the way that CNN covered this is a bit concerning, and not for the error so much as for the fear-mongering. > > The network spent several minutes telling Londoners that ISIS was in their midst, frequently reminding viewers of last week’s bloody terror attacks in Tunisia and Kuwait. They portrayed the London gay pride rally as sullied by violent Islamist extremism. And they displayed on screen, for long stretches, the image of a totally innocent gay pride supporter, repeatedly suggesting that this man is in fact a terrorist. > > CNN does not normally confuse ISIS flags with satirical dildo flags. This was clearly their JV team making a flub. But that flub was totally consistent with the network’s approach to terrorism, which for years has over-hyped threats, blasting viewers with hysterical warnings of imminent and omnipresent danger. It is a network whose terrorism coverage has been not just clumsy and irresponsible but cynical, exploiting people’s earnest fears and the bloodshed of real victims in order to create a more titillating TV viewing experience. > > In many ways, the CNN team responsible for this bit was just following normal protocol: over-hyping threats is, for the network, part of the daily routine. It just so happened that they went a little more overboard than usual here and got caught doing it. Usually, the act is not quite so obvious, and it’s not at all funny. The article also suggests (and quotes a similar suggestion from Liam Stack of NYT) that this could become a meme: > [@](#): > > **8) Is there a way in which we can permanently enter this incident into the journalism vernacular?** > > Liam Stack, of the New York Times, had an excellent suggestion along these lines: > > > [@Liam Stack in New York Times](#): > > > > Best part of CNN/ISIS/dildo flag story?CNN producers will have to start asking “is this thing we’re about to report just a bunch of dildos?” > > — Liam Stack (@liamstack) June 27, 2015 > > Henceforth, whenever CNN drastically flubs or overstates a nonsense threat, such segments shall be known as “just a bunch of dildos.” > > To wit: > > “Did you see that CNN bit about how ISIS is recruiting female fighters using nutella and kittens?” > > “Yeah, but I think that story might turn out to be just a bunch of dildos.” ---
**Author:** ![Dingbang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@Dingbang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dingbang)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/16 "2015-06-29T20:03:02Z")
I’m all in favor of criticizing CNN for a whole host of wrongs, but it seems this is a case of someone committing a subversive act to get attention, getting said attention, and then everyone mocking the people who noticed what he was doing to get attention. Granted, CNN took their coverage a bit far, babbling on for six minutes about something they could have reported in one. But that’s just how TV media works these days. They have a lot of time to fill. CNN acknowledged that the flag was “bad mimicry,” the images were “clearly not Arabic,” and it “may well be a parody.” They said the gay community “may be mocking ISIS.” They didn’t say the flag images were butt plugs and dildos, but you know, maybe they realized that and just didn’t want to say it on the air. With all that acknowledged, the fact remains that someone in the parade thought it was witty to carry a flag that was intentionally designed to resemble an ISIS flag. That’s what CNN went on and on about, trying with little success to figure out just why the flag bearer did what he did. If someone in a gay pride parade carries a flag that’s intentionally designed to look, at first glance, like the flag of a despicable movement that throws gay people off rooftops, it doesn’t seem outrageous for reporters to note the oddity and wonder what it means. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/17 "2015-06-29T20:09:47Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Would you make a dildo swastika and expect most people to think it was funny?! Just the phrase, “dildo swastika,” makes me laugh. The actual item would, I imagine, be even better. (Googles
) My hypothesis has been confirmed. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/18 "2015-06-29T21:31:13Z")
I would have said the same thing. Sex toys on a flag are the last thing in the world that I’d look for. I would never make that connection until its pointed out. Sure, squint real hard and theres a butt plug. But there are so many phallic symbols that get created by mere chance. . You don’t when to say for sure that’s a dildo. Heck weathermen often draw storm fronts that look phallic . I don’t pay it any attention anymore. > [@](#): > > She continues: ‘If you look at the flag closely, it’s clearly not Arabic, in fact it looks like it could be goobledegook, but it’s very distinctive - the ISIS flag.’ ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2015, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/19 "2015-06-30T02:11:31Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > But there are so many phallic symbols that get created by mere chance. . You don’t when to say for sure that’s a dildo. Heck weathermen often draw storm fronts that look phallic . Dildo swastikas and Storm Fronts. Got it. Now I know exactly where to look! ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2015, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/20 "2015-06-30T02:19:09Z")
> [@Dingbang](#): > > I’m all in favor of criticizing CNN for a whole host of wrongs, but it seems this is a case of someone committing a subversive act to get attention, getting said attention, and then everyone mocking the people who noticed what he was doing to get attention. And: “Sex toys on a flag are the last thing in the world that I’d look for. I would never make that connection until its pointed out. Sure, squint real hard and theres a butt plug.” (quote from **aceplace57** ). Srsly? Subversive act? Just to get attention? This was a _gay pride_ event! You see stuff there! Sex toys the last thing you’d expect to see on a flag? Srsly? At a _gay pride_ event? Have either of you dudes ever been to a gay pride event? These are not solemn rituals like Yom Kippur services. These are festive parades and street parties, more in the style of Mardi Gras. Except they have the good sense to hold these events on a warm summer day rather than a freezing rainy winter night. All kinds of _outrĂ©_ things are to be seen at gay pride events. Subversive? 😕 I do not think that word means what you think it means. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2015, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708/21 "2015-06-30T05:46:21Z")
For the record, I’d love to know where I could get a full picture of this flag’s design. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-isis-dildo-flag/723708.md?page=2)