Oregon publisher retracts claim that candidate video was deepfake

Cached records showed an upside-down American flag hung behind speakers at an October event featuring Nafisa Fai.

The Oregon Journalism Project retracted an article that labeled viral footage of Washington County commissioner candidate Nafisa Fai a deepfake.¹² The retraction followed findings that an American flag hanging behind speakers at a Minneapolis community gathering was genuine and had been hung upside down.¹

Fai, who lives in Aloha, is competing against fellow Commissioner Pam Treece in the Nov. 3 election to lead the Washington County Board of Commissioners.³⁴ The five-member governing body oversees an annual budget of $2 billion.³ The campaign had already experienced public turmoil in September, when former Chair Kathryn Harrington resigned six days after making an obscene gesture toward Fai during an official meeting.³⁴

Viral clip triggers campaign backlash

The controversy over the footage began after Fai traveled to Minnesota to deliver an address at an Oct. 10 event recorded by Somali TV Minnesota.⁴² Fai said she received an invitation while traveling and agreed to speak to inspire young listeners to pursue professional careers.³ A 26-second video showing Fai speaking Somali at a podium with an inverted American flag behind her was posted on social media by the account End Wokeness.³⁴ The post drew millions of views and prompted vitriolic online attacks demanding her deportation.³⁴

Other high-profile accounts amplified the footage, including Benny Johnson, Lara Logan, and Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina.³² The online anger quickly spilled into the physical campaign.³ Jacob Roloff witnessed an older woman confront Fai about the video following a candidate forum in Hillsboro.³ Fai, who arrived in the United States from Somalia as a teenager, rejected accusations that she lacked patriotism.³ She stated that she would fight for the country and felt hurt that critics questioned her loyalty.³

On Oct. 19, the Oregon Journalism Project published a story asserting that the viral video had been altered.¹² The publication relied on statements from Hoodo Mohamed, an event attendee who insisted the venue displayed roughly 100 upright flags on tables and behind the stage.³ Mohamed stated that the actual speech encouraged hard work, explaining that individuals could rise from mowing lawns to becoming corporate executives.³ A supporter of Fai provided the publication with a video clip that showed the flag in an upright position.¹⁴ Fai said she did not remember checking the flag before speaking, adding that she would never display an American flag inverted.³⁴

Oregon political figures quickly seized on the article to dismiss the viral clip.² Representative Maxine Dexter described the footage as an abusive attack driven by deceptive artificial intelligence.² The Democratic Party of Oregon similarly amplified the report, asserting that Fai was targeted by a manufactured smear campaign.² State Representative Dacia Grayber also promoted claims that the recording was an artificial intelligence manipulation.²

Archival records contradict deepfake claim

The conclusion that the video was a deepfake began to fall apart within hours.² Internet researchers located cached images on Google that traced directly to the Facebook page of Somali TV Minnesota.⁴² Those records displayed multiple speakers at the gathering addressing the audience from the identical lectern, with the same inverted American flag positioned behind them.² A digital archive of a deleted YouTube broadcast from the broadcaster also preserved a thumbnail showing Fai speaking in front of the upside-down flag.⁴ Observers noted obvious discrepancies between the cached broadcaster materials and the upright screenshot provided by the campaign supporter, including differences along the broadcast banner.⁴²

Fai distanced herself from the conflicting images following a county commission meeting.⁴ Asked about the discrepancies between the cached broadcaster footage and the image submitted to defend her, Fai said her team received only material circulating online and did not produce or approve anything.⁴

The Oregon Journalism Project removed its report on Oct. 20 and issued a formal retraction.¹² The publication explained that reader inquiries regarding conflicting evidence prompted staff to secure additional photographs confirming the flag hung upside down.⁴¹ The publisher stated that it regretted the error.¹⁴ The weekly newspaper Willamette Week, which republished the original account, issued a similar statement of regret.¹

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1. 1 W wweek.com Third-party reporting · wweek.com Oregon Journalism Project Retracts Story on Video Featuring Washington County Candidate See the source
2. 2 BV Ben's Viewpoint Third-party reporting · bensviewpoint.substack.com · 21 Oct 2026 Oregon’s Deepfake That Wasn’t See the source
3. 3 O oregonjournalismproject.org Document · oregonjournalismproject.org · 20 Oct 2026 Deepfake of Washington County, Oregon, Candidate Goes Viral Nationwide See the source
4. 4 K KATU Third-party reporting · katu.com · 21 Oct 2026 KATU probes alleged 'deepfake' as cached images show upside-down flag behind Nafisa Fai See the source