What an minor Wikipedia incident can teach us about the role of authority in the creation of truth

Reese Richardson

In 2017, Wikipedia editor WikiDan61 [changed the flag on Vatican City as
it appears on the
site](https://web.archive.org/web/20190608034347/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_Vatican_City.svg),
noting that "\[all\] images of actual Vatican City flags show the "gold"
in the keys and tiara rendered in the same hue as the gold/yellow band
of the flag, as well as a red opening at the bottom of the tiara".

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large">
<img
src="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-41-22-flag-of-vatican-city-wikipedia-1.png?w=800"
class="wp-image-220" data-attachment-id="220"
data-permalink="https://reeserichardson.blog/2024/05/21/truth-authority-and-the-flag-of-vatican-city/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-41-22-flag-of-vatican-city-wikipedia-1/"
data-orig-file="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-41-22-flag-of-vatican-city-wikipedia-1.png"
data-orig-size="800,800" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"
aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}"=""
data-image-title="screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-41-22-flag-of-vatican-city-wikipedia-1"
data-image-description="" data-image-caption=""
data-medium-file="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-41-22-flag-of-vatican-city-wikipedia-1.png?w=300"
data-large-file="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-41-22-flag-of-vatican-city-wikipedia-1.png?w=800"
tabindex="0" role="button" loading="lazy"
srcset="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-41-22-flag-of-vatican-city-wikipedia-1.png 800w, https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-41-22-flag-of-vatican-city-wikipedia-1.png?w=150 150w, https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-41-22-flag-of-vatican-city-wikipedia-1.png?w=300 300w, https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-41-22-flag-of-vatican-city-wikipedia-1.png?w=768 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" width="800" height="800" />
<figcaption>The flag of Vatican City, as uploaded by WikiDan61 in
2017.</figcaption>
</figure>

However, according to the [2000 revision of the Fundamental Law of
Vatican City
State](https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sp_ss_scv/insigne/sp_ss_scv_stemma-bandiera-sigillo_en.html),
this version of the flag was incorrect. Most notably, if the
specifications set out by the Holy See were followed, the inside of the
papal tiara would appear white, not red.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large">
<img
src="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-46-43-vatican-flags-keys-crowns-since-1800-the-flags-of-the-papal-states-and-todays-vatican-raven_v25_2018_p089-134_chapter3.pdf.png?w=708"
class="wp-image-222" data-attachment-id="222"
data-permalink="https://reeserichardson.blog/2024/05/21/truth-authority-and-the-flag-of-vatican-city/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-46-43-vatican-flags-keys-crowns-since-1800-the-flags-of-the-papal-states-and-todays-vatican-raven_v25_2018_p089-134_chapter3-pdf/"
data-orig-file="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-46-43-vatican-flags-keys-crowns-since-1800-the-flags-of-the-papal-states-and-todays-vatican-raven_v25_2018_p089-134_chapter3.pdf.png"
data-orig-size="708,884" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"
aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}"=""
data-image-title="screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-46-43-vatican-flags-keys-crowns-since-1800-the-flags-of-the-papal-states-and-todays-vatican-raven_v25_2018_p089-134_chapter3.pdf"
data-image-description="" data-image-caption=""
data-medium-file="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-46-43-vatican-flags-keys-crowns-since-1800-the-flags-of-the-papal-states-and-todays-vatican-raven_v25_2018_p089-134_chapter3.pdf.png?w=240"
data-large-file="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-46-43-vatican-flags-keys-crowns-since-1800-the-flags-of-the-papal-states-and-todays-vatican-raven_v25_2018_p089-134_chapter3.pdf.png?w=708"
tabindex="0" role="button" loading="lazy"
srcset="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-46-43-vatican-flags-keys-crowns-since-1800-the-flags-of-the-papal-states-and-todays-vatican-raven_v25_2018_p089-134_chapter3.pdf.png 708w, https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-46-43-vatican-flags-keys-crowns-since-1800-the-flags-of-the-papal-states-and-todays-vatican-raven_v25_2018_p089-134_chapter3.pdf.png?w=120 120w, https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-13-46-43-vatican-flags-keys-crowns-since-1800-the-flags-of-the-papal-states-and-todays-vatican-raven_v25_2018_p089-134_chapter3.pdf.png?w=240 240w"
sizes="(max-width: 708px) 100vw, 708px" width="708" height="884" />
<figcaption>The flag of Vatican City, as described by the 2000
revision to the Fundamental Law of Vatican City State. Image from <a
href="https://nava.org/raven-volume-25">Vatican Flags by William M.
Becker.</a></figcaption>
</figure>

Wikipedia editors realized this mistake in 2022 and reverted the flag to
a more appropriate version. However, [as the story
goes](https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254032/wikipedia-had-the-wrong-vatican-city-flag-for-years-now-incorrect-flags-are-everywhere),
the incorrect version of the flag had already begun to be downloaded and
used by flag retailers worldwide. To this day, if you want to buy the
flag of Vatican City, most of your options will feature the tiara with
the red interior.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large">
<img
src="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/oop.png?w=861"
class="wp-image-225" data-attachment-id="225"
data-permalink="https://reeserichardson.blog/2024/05/21/truth-authority-and-the-flag-of-vatican-city/oop/"
data-orig-file="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/oop.png"
data-orig-size="861,710" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"
aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}"=""
data-image-title="oop" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=""
data-medium-file="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/oop.png?w=300"
data-large-file="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/oop.png?w=861"
tabindex="0" role="button" loading="lazy"
srcset="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/oop.png 861w, https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/oop.png?w=150 150w, https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/oop.png?w=300 300w, https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/oop.png?w=768 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 861px) 100vw, 861px" width="861" height="710" />
<figcaption>Top
left: an Amazon listing for Vatican City flag from April 2023,
taken by Jonah McKeown of the Catholic News Agency. Top right: a Vatican City flag
I spotted in a Seattle bookstore in March 2023. Bottom row: listings
for the Vatican City flag from Google Shopping in May 2024. Notice that
all of these instances show the tiara with a red interior, not white.
These flags are also in the wrong aspect ratio (the Vatican City flag is
one of two national flags that officially have a 1:1 ratio, alongside
Switzerland’s).</figcaption>
</figure>

I contend that in order for a speaker's message to be accepted as the
truth by a listener, that listener must attribute a minimum amount of
authority to the speaker. For instance, Wikipedia has just enough
authority in the eyes of these flag retailers for its version of the
Vatican City flag to be accepted as the truth. The primacy of authority
is something I think we all intuitively understand, and to rhetoricians,
this observation will come across as trivial (ethos is a vertex of the
[rhetorical
triangle](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-rhetoric/), after
all).

However, the role of authority in the construction of popular truths and
mis-truths cannot be overstated. For instance, you'll often see
anti-vaxxers (like [Peter A.
McCullough](https://x.com/DrNoMask/status/1738618252723417094) and his
fellow industry professional ["5G
GENOCIDE"](https://web.archive.org/web/20230114005531/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIgUJZ7d_Po))
leaning on the fact that an academic paper that they cite is indexed in
PubMed, an organ of the National Library of Medicine and, by extension,
an organ of the United States federal government. This appeal confers
additional authority upon the speaker while playing against the
authority of the government (*"you see, even the vaccine-peddling NIH
can't deny the legitimacy of our research!"*). McCullough's
understanding of authority might also explain why his display name is
followed by his academic degrees, a registered trademark symbol (?) and
a verification badge.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large">
<img
src="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/mccullough.png?w=748"
class="wp-image-227" data-attachment-id="227"
data-permalink="https://reeserichardson.blog/2024/05/21/truth-authority-and-the-flag-of-vatican-city/mccullough/"
data-orig-file="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/mccullough.png"
data-orig-size="748,788" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"
aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}"=""
data-image-title="mccullough" data-image-description=""
data-image-caption=""
data-medium-file="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/mccullough.png?w=285"
data-large-file="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/mccullough.png?w=748"
tabindex="0" role="button" loading="lazy"
srcset="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/mccullough.png 748w, https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/mccullough.png?w=142 142w, https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/mccullough.png?w=285 285w"
sizes="(max-width: 748px) 100vw, 748px" width="748" height="788" />
<figcaption>Two tweets from January and December 2023 by anti-vaxxer
Peter A. McCullough featuring an appeal to PubMed as an
authority.</figcaption>
</figure>

Is PubMed an authority on human health research? No, it is only an
indexing service (read: online library) for the biomedical literature,
and [PubMed itself will be the first to tell you
that](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). However, this bit of
information isn't relevant so long as PubMed is *perceived as* an
authority within these circles.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large">
<img
src="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-14-47-03-sars-cov-2-vaccination-and-the-multi-hit-hypothesis-of-oncogenesis.png?w=879"
class="wp-image-229" data-attachment-id="229"
data-permalink="https://reeserichardson.blog/2024/05/21/truth-authority-and-the-flag-of-vatican-city/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-14-47-03-sars-cov-2-vaccination-and-the-multi-hit-hypothesis-of-oncogenesis/"
data-orig-file="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-14-47-03-sars-cov-2-vaccination-and-the-multi-hit-hypothesis-of-oncogenesis.png"
data-orig-size="879,480" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"
aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}"=""
data-image-title="screenshot-2024-05-17-at-14-47-03-sars-cov-2-vaccination-and-the-multi-hit-hypothesis-of-oncogenesis"
data-image-description="" data-image-caption=""
data-medium-file="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-14-47-03-sars-cov-2-vaccination-and-the-multi-hit-hypothesis-of-oncogenesis.png?w=300"
data-large-file="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-14-47-03-sars-cov-2-vaccination-and-the-multi-hit-hypothesis-of-oncogenesis.png?w=879"
tabindex="0" role="button" loading="lazy"
srcset="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-14-47-03-sars-cov-2-vaccination-and-the-multi-hit-hypothesis-of-oncogenesis.png 879w, https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-14-47-03-sars-cov-2-vaccination-and-the-multi-hit-hypothesis-of-oncogenesis.png?w=150 150w, https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-14-47-03-sars-cov-2-vaccination-and-the-multi-hit-hypothesis-of-oncogenesis.png?w=300 300w, https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-14-47-03-sars-cov-2-vaccination-and-the-multi-hit-hypothesis-of-oncogenesis.png?w=768 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 879px) 100vw, 879px" width="879" height="480" />
<figcaption>PubMed Central’s disclaimer over the full-text of one of
McCullough’s cited articles.</figcaption>
</figure>

The primacy of authority is also why commentators have often portrayed
participants in student protests about Gaza and Palestine as
[white](https://www.ocregister.com/2024/04/29/terrorist-sympathizers-are-disrupting-universities-across-the-country/),
[privileged](https://nypost.com/2024/05/01/us-news/arab-activist-rawan-osman-rips-us-college-students-for-hamas-support/)
or [uneducated](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VRqSgQN0Zs). Doing so
does not really challenge the protestors' message itself, but serves to
degrade the authority of the message's source in the eyes of observers,
which can be both more effective and less troublesome.

The Vatican City flag snafu is a valuable case study in how authority
shapes truth because of its unique conclusion. Not only did WikiDan61's
actions change how the truth was reflected by an authority, but arguably
*changed the truth itself*. As a result of WikiDan61's edit, the
red-tiara version of the Vatican City flag has come into common use as a
symbol to represent Vatican City, fulfilling the purpose of an ensign
and become just as effective a flag of Vatican City as the official
version.

This would be a great place to leave this story if the truth wasn't even
more complicated: WikiDan61 was not wholly incorrect. The red-tiara
version of the Vatican City flag has seen use, even official use by the
Holy See, for decades prior to their edit. You may have also noticed
that several of the listings for the flag I showed earlier are not exact
copies of WikiDan61's design (look at the color and handles of the
crossed keys), complicating the story further.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large">
<a
href="https://www.catholicsun.org/2015/09/23/el-papa-hijo-de-una-familia-de-inmigrantes-le-dice-a-obama-que-esta-listo-para-aprender-en-los-eeuu/"><img
src="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/vatican_flag_in_use.png?w=1024"
class="wp-image-232" data-attachment-id="232"
data-permalink="https://reeserichardson.blog/2024/05/21/truth-authority-and-the-flag-of-vatican-city/vatican_flag_in_use/"
data-orig-file="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/vatican_flag_in_use.png"
data-orig-size="1178,659" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"
aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}"=""
data-image-title="vatican_flag_in_use" data-image-description=""
data-image-caption=""
data-medium-file="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/vatican_flag_in_use.png?w=300"
data-large-file="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/vatican_flag_in_use.png?w=1024"
tabindex="0" role="button" loading="lazy"
srcset="https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/vatican_flag_in_use.png?w=1022 1022w, https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/vatican_flag_in_use.png?w=150 150w, https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/vatican_flag_in_use.png?w=300 300w, https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/vatican_flag_in_use.png?w=768 768w, https://reeserichardson.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/vatican_flag_in_use.png 1178w"
sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" width="1024"
height="572" /></a>
<figcaption>Left:
The Vatican City flag outside Porta Sant’Anna in 1980 (<a
href="https://nava.org/raven-volume-25">source</a>). Upper right: The Vatican City
flag flown aboard Apollo 11 in 1969 (<a
href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vatican-City-Moon-Flag.jpg">source</a>).
Lower right: The Vatican
City flag flown behind Pope Francis on a visit to the United States in
2015 (<a
href="https://www.catholicsun.org/2015/09/23/el-papa-hijo-de-una-familia-de-inmigrantes-le-dice-a-obama-que-esta-listo-para-aprender-en-los-eeuu/">source</a>).
All feature the tiara with a red interior.</figcaption>
</figure>

Have I muddled my thesis by ending with this tidbit? Probably. Will I
jump at the chance to ramble on any vexillological ephemera regardless
of coherence? Absolutely.

In 2017, Wikipedia editor WikiDan61 changed the flag on Vatican City as it appears on the site, noting that “[all] images of actual Vatican City flags show the “gold” in the keys and tiara rendered in the same hue as the gold/yellow band of the flag, as well as a red opening at the bottom of the tiara”.  However, according to the 2000 revision of the Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, this version of the flag was incorrect.

Messaggi di Rogue Scholar

Truth, authority and the flag of Vatican City