McDonald's Upside-Down Flag Causes Post-Election Controversey

A McDonald’s franchise in Follansbee, W.Va., caused a stir Wednesday for flying an American flag upside down and at half mast the day following President Barack Obama’s victory.

Many people in the area and online initially believed the McDonald’s had reversed the flag as a protest against Obama’s victory. Mitt Romney crushed Obama by 62 to 35 percent in West Virginia Tuesday, carrying every county.

But managers at the McDonalds swear the upside-down flag was a complete accident. Apparently, the flagpole broke while they were raising the flag in the morning, causing it to fall upside-down.

"I just want to say: I am a manager at that McDonald's,” a caller told NEWS9 TV, according to Examiner. “The flag was to be flown at half-staff as per McDonald’s Corporation. As for it being flown upside down--it was a complete and total accident. NO ONE at our store would PURPOSELY fly the flag upside down. Our flagpole is actually broken, and we are unable to move the flag."

Later, the owner of the McDonald’s sent an email to the same station in an attempt to clarify the upside-down flag incident.

"Unfortunately, a flag cable broke and during the process of trying the fix the flag, it was inadvertently turned upside down. It wasn't noticed that the flag was upside down until a customer inquired about it. We are working on fixing the flag right now. It's important to note that this was an accident, not intentional."

After the incident made national news, NEWS9 returned to the location and found that McDonald’s had indeed restored the flag to its proper position.