How to Use false flag in a Sentence

false flag

noun
  • These vessels hide their identity by using false flags and false names.
    — Francisco J. Monaldi, The Conversation, 12 Dec. 2025
  • Sentiment could be a false flag, as some economists warn.
    — Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 10 May 2026
  • Others call the antisemitism a false flag to discredit the protests.
    — Larry Luxner, Sun Sentinel, 29 June 2026
  • The official said the vessel was flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order.
    — Aamer Madhani, Fortune, 21 Dec. 2025
  • His troop deployments are a false flag — meant to provoke a response in order to justify harsh crackdowns.
    — Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Oct. 2025
  • It’s done all of it, and it’s done all of it while cycling through various false identities, false flags, with questionable or no insurance.
    — Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 8 Jan. 2026
  • Ships routinely turn off their location trackers, use spoofing to falsify positions and sail under false flags.
    — Adina Renner, New York Times, 15 May 2026
  • French maritime authorities in the Mediterranean said the ship, the Grinch, is suspected of operating with a false flag.
    — Arkansas Online, 23 Jan. 2026
  • The report also said that a total of 113 Russian shadow vessels had flown a false flag in the first three quarters of 2025.
    — Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025
  • Biocontainment labs are also huge potential targets for false flag operations by adversaries.
    — Andrew Noymer, Oc Register, 24 Dec. 2025
  • Then, creators rushed to capitalize on the event while also writing it off as a false flag designed to garner sympathy for the Republican nominee.
    — Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 28 Apr. 2026
  • At the time, French maritime authorities for the Mediterranean also said the ship, the Grinch, was suspected of operating with a false flag.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 1 June 2026
  • As well as allowing Russia to earn export revenues, the insurance of any vessel flying a false flag is void, and with many tankers being old, increases risk for coastal states on their routes, in the event of accidents or an oil spill.
    — Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025
  • They are usually registered under flags of convenience (in states such as Gabon, Cameroon, or the Cook Islands, which maintain open ship registries with minimal oversight) or under false flags.
    — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 18 Jan. 2026
  • In the days since this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner was cut short when shots were fired at the event, there has been a boom of conspiracy theory videos created by people who insist that the entire situation was a false flag operation.
    — Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 28 Apr. 2026
  • These vessels exploit outdated international laws and enforcement gaps, employing tactics like AIS blackouts and false flags for plausible deniability.
    — Jill Goldenziel, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'false flag.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: