false flag

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false flag

noun false flags · false-flag

A ruse, in the days of sail, in which an attacking ship would fly the colours of its enemy until close enough to open fire.
A diversionary or propaganda tactic of deceiving an adversary into thinking that an operation was carried out by another party. Using what the bureau calls a "False Flag" operation, F.B.I. agents posing as Russian intelligence officers contacted Mr. Pitts in August 1995, long after it believed he had ceased his spying activities, and feigned interest in reactivating him as a means of confirming his spying activities and dete

verb false flags · false flagging · false flagged · false-flag

informal, transitive To target someone or something with a false flag or ruse. He instinctively false-flagged Arthur's information. There was no reason to expose the CIA or one of its deep-cover agents.

Translations

Every language

noun a deception tactic

日本語	偽旗作戦 nisehata sakusen
中文	徦旗戰術 /徦旗战术 jiǎqí zhànshù
Français	opération sous faux drapeau, opération sous fausse bannière, opération sous faux pavillon
Deutsch	falsche Flagge

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MLA

"false flag." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/false%20flag. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

false flag. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/false%20flag

Chicago

"false flag." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/false%20flag.

BibTeX

@misc{false_flag_2026,
  title = {false flag},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/false%20flag},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}