Fact Check: Lockheed Martin Supposedly Adopted a Company Pride Flag with 'Fighter Jet' Design. Here Are the Facts

Nick Hardinges
·3 min read
6
X account @John_A_Ridge
X account @John_A_Ridge

Claim:

An image shared online in early June 2024 authentically shows a "fighter jet" Pride flag design adopted by Lockheed Martin.

Rating:

Rating: False
Rating: False

Context:

A Lockheed Martin spokeswoman told Snopes the company has not adopted an official Pride flag.

 

On June 1, 2024, an X user posted an image purportedly showing aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin's official Pride flag.

The image contained the features seen in the Progress Pride flag but the diagonal stripes were edited to resemble a fighter jet. Lockheed Martin's name and logo were also included in the bottom-right corner of the design.

However, the company said the image does not represent an official company flag, nor has Lockheed Martin adopted any kind of Pride flag.

Similar posts appeared elsewhere in early June 2024, such as on X and Facebook. Together, they had amassed more than 265,000 views at the time of this writing.

The image was also posted on Reddit in March 2024 and December 2023, X in November 2023, and Instagram in September 2023, where it included the Transformers Decepticon logo.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CxtigWVviVS/

Some social media users were left wondering whether it was real , while others hated it or branded it ridiculous.

Another X user said the flag would "ruffle some feathers."

However, a spokeswoman for Lockheed Martin's U.S. team told Snopes via email the image was "not an official company flag," and said that the company doesn't have an official Pride flag.

Asked whether the image possibly showed an unofficial Lockheed Martin Pride flag that could have, for example, been flown on behalf of the company at a Pride event, the spokeswoman added: "Not to our knowledge."

Snopes found no evidence the aerospace and defense company had adopted the image as its Pride flag. Searching for "pride" among news stories on Lockheed Martin's website produced no proof the company had adopted the image. Likewise, the company's news releases mentioning "pride" did not include the image.

Alleged Pride flags have circulated online on numerous occasions. Snopes addressed a false claim about a "new Pride flag" in May 2024, and in June 2023 we looked into claims about a flag for "minor-attracted persons."

Sources:

'16 Years of PRIDE Business Resource Group'. Lockheed Martin, https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/news/features/2021/16-years-of-pride-business-resource-group.html. Accessed 3 June 2024.

'Getting Real for PRIDE Month'. Lockheed Martin, https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/news/features/2022/getting-real-for-pride-month.html. Accessed 3 June 2024.

Insignia - Transformers Wiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Insignia. Accessed 3 June 2024.

Kasprak, Alex. 'New LGBTQ+ Pride Flag?' Snopes, 7 May 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/newest-pride-flag/.

LaMagdeleine, Izz Scott. 'Do "Minor-Attracted Persons" Use a "MAPs Pride Flag" To Represent Themselves?' Snopes, 10 June 2023, https://www.snopes.com//articles/464807/minor-attracted-persons-flag/.

'Lockheed Martin News and Events'. Lockheed Martin, https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/news.html. Accessed 3 June 2024.

Lockheed Martin Pride Flag - Google Search. https://www.google.com/search?q=lockheed+martin+pride+flag&sca_esv=a7dd94b2e88221ce&prmd=invmbtz&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj0vtux_b-GAxXiYEEAHcRDDMkQ0pQJegQIBhAC&biw=1280&bih=593&dpr=1.5. Accessed 3 June 2024.

'Tamara Finds Her Voice as a Transgender Employee'. Lockheed Martin, https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/news/features/2021/tamara-finds-her-voice-as-a-transgender-employee-.html. Accessed 3 June 2024.

'The Progress Pride Flag · V&A'. Victoria and Albert Museum, https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-progress-pride-flag. Accessed 3 June 2024.