Image of flag burning. Source: Facebook-Mel Will
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Claim: Mel Will posted on Facebook that Iranian protesters mistakenly burnt the Liberian flag, thinking it was the flag of the United States of America.
Verdict: Misleading! The burning flag in the image is not the Liberian flag. The flags in the picture are those of the United States of America and Israel.
Full Text
Anti-government protests have been ongoing in Iran since December 29, 2025. The protests began in Tehran’s bazaar and have now spread to more than 180 cities. The demonstration is a result of rampant inflation on basic goods such as cooking oil and chicken. A decision by the Central Bank to end a program that allowed importers to access some cheaper US dollars than the rest of the market aggravated the situation.
A CNN report says US President Donald Trump has threatened to attack Iran if the security forces respond with force against protesters. It is reported that hundreds have been killed in the protests.
From this backdrop, a social media user, Mel Will, posted on Facebook claiming the protesters, in an attempt to burn the American flag, burnt the Liberian flag because of the similarities in the two flags.
He said, “Breaking news, a moment ago, a Liberian flag was set on fire by pro-Iranian government protesters who mistakenly took it for an American flag. Hopefully, the foreign ministry can speak to its Iranian counterpart concerning this unfortunate incident. These are among many reasons why the United States government should include a special budget line in its national budget for the protection and defence of Liberians around the world. Imagine driving in Yemen, Iraq, Iran, or Venezuela with a Liberian flag mounted on a vehicle.”
A screenshot of the post.
This was also posted by Mercy Boimah Zeanbo. It generated 481 reactions, 228 comments, and 30 shares by the time of this reporting. In the comments section, some users agreed with the claimant, while others disagreed. The mixed reactions led DUBAWA to conduct a fact-check.
Screenshot of comments.
Verification
DUBAWA conducted a Google reverse image search of the posted image. The results showed that the image is from a video of Iranians protesting against Israel in June 2025, when Israel went to a twelve-day war with Iran.
The flags in the video are American and Israeli, not Liberian, as claimed. The burning of these flags happened on June 20, 2025, as a demonstration against the United States of America and Israel.
The picture isn’t related to the current anti-government protests ongoing in Iran. However, the Washington Times and others used the same image on January 11, 2026, to report on the anti-government protest in Iran.
Conclusion
The photo is of an old accident that occurred on June 20, 2025. Therefore, the claim is misleading.
