Fact Check: Purported Guardian Headline Claims Gaza Will One Day Host 'World's Largest Pride Parade.' Here's the Truth

Nur Ibrahim
·3 min read
X user @GBullstein
X user @GBullstein

Claim:

The headline of a June 2, 2024, column by Owen Jones in The Guardian stated, "Diversity and inclusion is in the heart of all Palestinians. Gaza will one day host the world’s largest Pride parade."

Rating:

Rating: Fake
Rating: Fake

On June 3, 2024, a purported screenshot of a Guardian article with the headline "Diversity and inclusion is in the heart of all Palestinians. Gaza will one day host the world's largest Pride parade" went viral on the pretense that it was written by Guardian columnist Owen Jones.


(X user @GBullstein)

The screenshot, with the date June 2, 2024, is fake and appears to be satirical in nature.

First, we found no evidence of such an article on Jones' Guardian profile. As of June 3, 2024, he had written only one article on British politics in June 2024, with the headline "Bohemian Bristol Central could be the one seat Labour loses on election night. Here's why." Second, the top left of the screenshot shows six categories for the opinion section: Columnists, Gender, Cartoons, Race, Letters and Politics. The actual categories on The Guardian's website are: The Guardian view, Columnists, Letters, Opinion videos and Cartoons.


(Screenshot via The Guardian)

This is not the first time we have debunked fake headlines pertaining to Jones. In October 2023, a fake screenshot of a Guardian article claimed Jones wrote, "Without Israeli Oppression Gaza can become a LGBTQIA2S+ Mecca." Jones himself denied writing such an article.

As we've reported before, Jones, who openly identifies as gay on his X account, has also frequently written pro-Palestine commentary, including stories condemning the Israeli military bombardment of Gaza. The fake post appears to poke fun at Jones' critical stance against Israel's actions by sarcastically drawing attention to reported lack of rights for LGBTQ+ people in Palestine.

However, pro-Palestine activists say Palestine's poor record of LGBTQ+ rights has been weaponized to support Israel's "pinkwashing" efforts, which emphasize that the Israeli government must be supported because it is the only place in the Middle East that protects LGBTQ+ people. Israel's "gay-friendly" image, activists argue, is used to disguise state-sanctioned oppression against all Palestinian people, including those who are members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Sources:

Bohrer, Ashley. "Against the Pinkwashing of Israel." Al Jazeera, Aug. 9, 2014.  https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/8/9/against-the-pinkwashing-of-israel. Accessed 3 June 2024.

"Don't Try to Stop Us from Denouncing Israel's Pinkwashing." Middle East Eye, https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/dont-try-stop-us-denouncing-israels-pinkwashing. Accessed 3 June 2024.

"Gay Palestinian Ahmad Abu Marhia Beheaded in West Bank." BBC, 7 Oct. 2022. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63174835. Accessed 3 June 2024.

Ibrahim, Nur. "'Without Israeli Oppression' Gaza Will Be 'LGBTQIA2S+ Mecca,' Fake Guardian Headline Claims." Snopes, 25 Oct. 2023, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/guardian-israeli-gaza-lgbtq-mecca/. Accessed 3 June 2024.

Jones, Owen. "Bohemian Bristol Central Could Be the One Contest Labour Loses on Election Night. Here's Why." The Guardian, 2 June 2024. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jun/02/bristol-central-labour-election-greens-britain-riot. Accessed 3 June 2024.

Jones, Owen. "Israel Is Clear about Its Intentions in Gaza – World Leaders Cannot Plead Ignorance of What Is Coming." The Guardian, 24 Oct. 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/24/israel-gaza-world-leaders-un-genocide-palestinians. Accessed 3 June 2024.

"Owen Jones." The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/profile/owen-jones. Accessed 3 June 2024.