Minnesota unveiled its new state flag Tuesday, deciding on a design with notable differences from a public submission that had right-wingers outraged this weekend, claiming it resembled a flag from Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) homeland too much.
That outrage stemmed largely from a post by the notorious right-wing X account “End Wokeness,” which wrongly declared Sunday that Minnesota had already chosen its new flag. The account claimed the flag had similarities to that of the autonomous state of Puntland in Somalia, with both featuring green, blue, and white strips, and the inclusion of a star.
Included in the viral post was a photo Puntland’s flag and what was incorrectly declared to be Minnesota’s new flag. In reality, the attached flag was a design submitted by a resident to the state that authorities said they planned to tweak.