Videos show confrontation over LGBTQ+ representation.

Two social media posts appear to show angry, real-world encounters between Americans over LBGTQ+ representation.

A parent angrily tears down a pride flag in a teacher’s classroom, tosses it in the trash, then argues with the teacher, asking, “Why do you have this hanging up for kids to see?”, according to a video we saw shared Sept. 17 on Instagram and Facebook. On Instagram, it drew 16,000 likes; on Facebook, it had 2.5 million views (before it was taken down).

In a different video, a flight attendant and a transgender man on an airplane argue over the use of pronouns with a caption that read, “Trans person freaks out on an airplane when flight attendant uses the wrong pronoun!” The video drew more than 71,000 likes when it was shared Sept. 12 on an Instagram post with the caption, “not confirmed if real or not.” 

Although the scenes depict plausible scenarios, given political polarization surrounding LGBTQ+ issues including Pride displays, these videos are not authentic.

Both videos were shortened clips taken from longer skits created by a comedian named Jibrizy, who said they were intended to stir discussion. His Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and X pages contain dozens of similar skits, not all related to LGBTQ+ issues.

At the end of the full classroom video, Jibrizy appears with the actor who tore down the flag and asks viewers to leave their opinions in the comments. He did the same at the end of the full airplane video.

The shortened videos were real enough for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and others on social media to share uncritically.

“GOD BLESS THIS MAMA!!!! I stand with her!!!” Greene shared on X in a Sept. 18 post tagged by readers using the platform’s Community Notes feature, linking to Jibrizy’s original video. Greene added in a follow-up post that “If this is a fake or a skit, it’s a very good representation of exactly how people feel.”

Jibrizy, whose X profile says, “I direct social political video out as real life scenarios of the left and right for debate,” complained on that platform that others were stealing his work to gain a social media following. 

“I create video to start discussion. It’s openly fake. But I want you to debate your point of view,” he wrote Sept. 18.

The two shortened videos of his skits are being widely shared on social media without telling viewers they weren’t real. The claims are False.