Firm selling Confederate flag as 'Ireland South Cross Flag'
A Confederate flag is on sale on Amazon advertised as an "Ireland South Cross Flag".
The flag, which is advertised as being five foot wide and three foot high, is being sold by a "a small family firm" in the UK for £6.99.
It comes less than a week after violence broke out in Charlottesville after a mix of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and other far-right extremists assembled to protest against the city's decision to remove a towering statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee.
Heather Heyer, 32, was killed when a man ploughed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters.
The Confederate flag was used by the secessionists of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865.
It has since been appropriated for use by segments of the far right in the United States but is also regarded as a symbol of southern pride by some in the US.
Someone has since posted a question on the page asking: "What's an Ireland south cross flag and why is a confederate flag being advertised?"
A week ago, an Amazon customer claimed that the Confederate flag is illegal to sell so the sellers "have covered it up by calling it ireland south cross flag".
There have been six reviews of the flag, the earliest being from June last year which gave the product one star. The person giving the review said: "Bought this thinking it was the red and blue confederate Dixie flag as you can see its in the picture but it isn't what is advertised!"
Another single-star review a couple of weeks ago said: "NOT THE FLAG IN THE PICTURE." However, three other reviews, all of which gave five stars, described the prooduct simply as "great" and "excellent value for money".
The firm selling the flag on Amazon, Fruit Salad Retro, claim they have an "eye for a good brand... and the little fun items with a funky twist," in their company description.
Their description says: "We think people like our superb range of gifts, our eye for a good brand, our love of history and tradition and the little fun items with a funky twist that we love to throw into the mix too.
"We started off because as a family we loved nothing more than buying the occasional fun gift to brighten up a rainy day. As we scoured the known world for fun items, birthday gifts and educational toys we thought "why not do this for a living" - and so we did!
"So whether you love Saxons and Normans, bunting for Summer garden parties, memorabilia from your favourite band, fun ducks to liven up bathtime, fun plasters to change tear-time to smile-time or just, like us, have an eye for hat "fun retro gift" -- welcome to the world of Fruit Salad Retro!"
We have contacted the company for a comment and await a reply.
