UN agency’s profile has had black band since October 2023 | Fact check

An Oct. 17 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) includes a screenshot showing a diagonal black ribbon on the X, formerly Twitter, profile for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees.
“(United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) has placed a black band over its profile photo in mourning for the death of the ‘Butcher of Khan Younis’ Yahya Sinwar,” reads the text on the image, which is a screenshot of an X post. “They’re not even trying to hide their affiliation with Hamas anymore.”  
It was liked more than 7,000 times in three days. Other versions of the claim, including one from former Republican Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, spread widely on Facebook and X.  
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The ribbon predates Sinwar’s death by a year. It was added to the profile picture in October 2023 as a tribute to the relief agency’s workers killed in Gaza, a spokeswoman said.
The claim came on the same day Israel announced it had killed Sinwar, Hamas’ military leader, in Gaza. Sinwar is thought to have been the architect of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 others were taken hostage.
But the black ribbon has “nothing to do with” Sinwar’s death, agency spokeswoman Juliette Touma told USA TODAY. 
It was added to the X profile one year ago as a “small tribute” to agency employees killed in Gaza, she said. A statement on the agency’s website specified that it was added when 20 workers were confirmed to have been killed.
More than 200 workers have since been killed in Gaza, the statement said.  
The statement is consistent with archived versions of the agency’s X profile. The black ribbon was not present as of Oct. 16, 2023, and was there by Oct. 23, 2023.  
The ribbon remained on the profile picture throughout the next year. It was still on the profile as of Oct. 21, 2024.
Fact check: UN updated how it reports deaths in Gaza, did not admit to lying about them
The agency adheres to neutrality standards that would prevent it from taking any such action in response to an event like Sinwar’s death, Touma said.
“We do not take any sides with any party to the conflict,” she said. “We are not party to the conflict. Our role is to provide humanitarian assistance to people in need.”
USA TODAY has debunked an array of claims related to the U.N., including false assertions that the organization issued a directive to create a “one world government” in 2025, that it said digital IDs would be mandatory for people who wish to participate in society and that World Economic Forum head Klaus Schwab said the U.N.’s “Agenda 2030” is “failing.”
USA TODAY reached out to users who shared the post for comment, including Kinzinger, but did not immediately receive responses.
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