US flag upside down outside the state department, photo seems to suggest

A photograph that is alleged to show the American flag that flew upside down outside the Ministry of State has become viral on social media.

Newsweek Contacted the Department of State and the Reddit user, who first published the photograph for comment Thursday outside regular office hours via E -Mail and Reddit Direct message respectively.

Why it matters

President Donald Trump promised during his campaign in 2024 to run what he called “Deep State.” Shortly after his election victory in November, he named billionaire -technical Tycoon Elon Musk as head of the newly created government’s effectiveness.

Since Trump’s inauguration last month, his administration has offered most of the federal government’s 3 million employees postponed resignation and warned that those who remain at risk of being awarded or dismissed. Employees were also asked to return to the office, with more narrative Newsweek This morality had crater and that they would refuse to obey the executive orders they thought were illegal.

It is unclear whether the viral photo is real or whether it is whether the reverse flag was a mistake or a protest action by an unhappy employee.

What to know

Under the American flag code, the stars and stripes “never appear with the Union down, except as a signal of serious distress in the event of extreme danger of life or property.”

Wednesday Reddit -User /U /Desperatecranberry38 Shared A photograph they exceeded, “outside the Ministry of State.” The image sent in /R /EconomicCollapse Sureddit showed a reverse American flag flying on full staff. The user later said that the photograph had been “taken by an acquaintance of a friend.”

Using Google Maps and photographs from the area, another Redditor said the photograph was legitimate and had been taken outside the state of the state in Washington, DC Newsweek have not independently verified the image.

Using Tineye, a reverse image search, Newsweek Look up the picture and found no matches indicating that this is probably the first time it has been uploaded to the Internet.

Using @danzu72 if bio said they were a military veteran later Sent The picture on X, formerly Twitter, who wrote in the caption, “The flag flown upside down as a sign of distress outside the state department.”

This post was viral on the platform and received more than 9,300 reposts, 87,000 likes and 2.6 million views.

What people say

X User @Jasontruck45732 commented on the post: “So sad to see, but feel their pain!”

User @p3paul163929 wrote: “The Career Government Lemmings are in panic.”

User @danzu72 replied to @p3paul163929s comment: “Imagine having such a miserable existence that you want your co-Americans out of work. Their distress will not make your p ***-colored life better.”

User @captainwoosah wrote“American people don’t want to be distressed. We finally feel like we’re getting the answers we’ve been looking for years.”

Using @amesosaycnuc said about their flag: “Mine has been upside down since the inauguration and will remain that way.”

What happens next

The Department of State is likely to come under further pressure to comment on the legitimacy of the image and if it is real how the flag came to be upside down.

Musk has previously called for cuts in federal government expenditure of up to $ 2 trillion, making additional tensions with some federal employees all except inevitable.