Yesterday US VP Mike Pence mixed up the flags of Israel an Nicaragua in a tweet. Flaggbloggen often encounter people who mix up flags, it’s nothing to be ashamed of! Let me present to you 3 tips on how to use emoji flags in social media.
1: Alphabetically
The flag emojis in your smart phone are sorted alphabetically. If you for example are looking for the flag of Israel, look close to the flags of countries such as Iceland and Italy. If you see the flags of Nepal, Nigeria and North Korea you’re in the wrong place.
2: Symbols and text
It’s quite common that flags contain a symbol of the country in question. Israel, for example, uses the well recognized symbol of Judaism the Star of David on their flag. Nicaragua, on the other hand, has chosen to put “Republica de Nicaragua – America Central” on their flag.
3: Only support countries with identical flags
Everyone can’t be a flag expert. Sometimes you have to realize your limitations. If you have trouble with flags, you can choose to only support countries with flags that are more or less identical. Romania and Chad virtually have identical flags and would probably be happy with some support from the US. The flags of Indonesia and Monaco are also very similar and the emoji version of them are exactly identical.