Minnesota Flag Unveiled, Right-Wingers Freaking Out

Minnesota's new state flag causes outrage online after a public submission is wrongly said to be the final design.

Minnesota introduced its new state flag on Tuesday, which was a design with significant differences from a public submission that had sparked outrage among right-wingers over the weekend. The controversy arose from a post by the right-wing X account "End Wokeness," which falsely claimed that Minnesota had already chosen its new flag, and compared it to the flag of the autonomous state of Puntland in Somalia. The post, which went viral, included a photo of Puntland's flag and an image that was incorrectly declared to be Minnesota's new flag. In reality, the attached flag was a design submitted by a resident that authorities planned to tweak.

The post from End Wokeness insinuated that the new flag resembled the flag of Puntland, which is the homeland of Rep. Ilhan Omar, who represents Minnesota. The controversy also drew the attention of Monica Crowley, a former Fox News contributor, who commented on the post, which garnered over 5 million views.

Minnesota authorities had decided to replace its previous flag because its seal was seen as cluttered and insensitive to the state's Indigenous American population. The "Emblems Redesign Commission" reviewed more than 2,000 design submissions from the public and finalized the new flag on Tuesday morning. The new flag features two blocks of light and dark blue, with an eight-point star on its left side, a nod to Minnesota's nickname as the "North Star State."

The controversy surrounding the new flag design sparked a heated debate online, with many expressing their opinions about the decision and the accusations made by the right-wing account. Despite the uproar, the new flag is set to begin flying over government buildings on May 11, which is Minnesota's "Statehood Day." The state's decision to replace its flag reflects a broader trend of updating symbols and emblems to better represent the diverse and inclusive nature of the state.