Anti-LGBT Russians Use Country's Flag To Counter Facebook Rainbow Flag Filter

(CBS SF) -- Facebook's rainbow flag filter for user's profile images proved to be wildly popular following Friday's U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing same-sex marriage in all 50 states, while also creating a backlash on the other side the world.

In Russia, where there are laws against LGBT 'propaganda' and polls show large majority of Russians intolerant of homosexuality, a number of apps have offered to splash the colors of the Russian Federation flag onto users' profile pictures.

Russian designer Oleg Chulakov, who created one of the most widely-used flag apps, said in a Facebook post the app wasn't created in opposition to same-sex marriage or LGBT people. "We are not against anyone," he said in the post.

The website offering the tricolor filter states, "We are proud of our country, whose citizens respect the choices of others, regardless of their nationality, sex, age, religion and sexual orientation."

Those using the Russian flag filter on their social media profiles often add the hashtags #pridetobestraight  or #pridetoberussian in both English and Cyrillic versions, along with comments lamenting the association of rainbow imagery with LGBT rights.

One prominent homophobic Russian lawmaker has called on the country's Internet watchdog to ban Facebook for violating the so-called 'gay propaganda' laws.

In:
• Facebook
• Russia
• LGBTQ+