The flag, and a fake “LGBTP” acronym, were debunked by the fact-checking organization Snopes.
Various efforts to tie the LGBTQ community to pedophilia have been linked back to 4chan, including the creation of a fake rainbow flag for Gay Pride Month that supposedly was designed to show acceptance of pedophilia. “They are actually trying to argue that pedophiles are an ‘oppressed minority,’” Posobiec wrote on Twitter, attaching screenshots of tweets. They took the fake message seriously and used it to suggest that the LGBTQ community supports the sexual abuse of children. One tweet from the troll’s account, which used the handle stated that “Pedophilia is a sexual orientation you bigots.” That tweet has drawn more than 16,000 replies and received attention on far-right parts of the internet, drawing scathing responses from right-wing commentator and former Major League Baseball pitcher Curt Schilling and 'pizzagate' conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec, among others.
