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Who Is TikToker 'Ambamelia' And Why Did She Tear Down Greek Flags At A Restaurant? The Viral Israel Flag Mix-Up Explained
TikToker Ambamelia is in hot water after posting a video of herself tearing down a string of Greek flags at a gyro restaurant, thinking were Israeli flags.
The video quickly went viral, inspiring a wave of hate towards the creator, who has now deleted her account altogether. Here's how it all went down.
What Is The 'Ambamelia Greek Flag' Video?
On October 15th, 2024, TikToker @ambamelia posted a video of herself tearing a string of Greek flags off a New Jersey restaurant, Efi's Gyro's, then confronting the shop owners. At the start of the video, she yells, "Free Palestine," assuming that the restauranteurs are showing their support for Israel in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Imagine her shock when the restaurant owner tells her that it's a Greek flag, not an Israeli flag.
The TikToker says, "My bad," and tries to downplay the situation while the restaurant owners continue to scold her. Surprisingly, Ambamelia uploaded this video herself seemingly knowing that she was in the wrong, based on a caption at the start of the video that reads, "The time I mistakenly thought the flag for Greek was for Israel and took the restaurant flag down OMG."
This has inspired some confusion over why she uploaded it at all, especially considering all the backlash she's receiving.
How Is Social Media Reacting To The Video?
The video garnered millions of views on TikTok before it was deleted along with her entire account. In that timeframe, it was reposted across Reddit and X, where it gained millions more views and lots of criticism from commenters.
For example, political commentator and X user Ian Miles Cheong, posted the video with the caption, "This low IQ activist tore down Greek flags because she has no idea what the Israeli flag looks like."
There doesn't seem to be anyone online in support of Ambamelia's actions. Many are pointing out how Ambamelia doesn't really apologize in the video, just says "my bad" and even laughs a little.
The video has now spread to mainstream news sources, where the TikToker is being further criticized for what she did at the restaurant.
For the full history of Ambamelia tearing down the Greek flags, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.