Did the Sphere in Las Vegas project an image of the flag of Israel on its massive dome to show support for that nation amid the Hamas-Israel conflict in October 2023? No, that's not true: The Sphere Entertainment Co. issued a public statement refuting this claim, saying, "the image was photoshopped." The company did not issue any statements related to the Hamas-Israel conflict.
The claim was a video published on X, formerly known as Twitter, on October 10, 2023, (archived here). It opened:
The Vegas Sphere showing impressive support for Israel.
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Thur Oct 12 15:07:22 2023 UTC)
This eight-second clip showing cars in the foreground has been edited to include a display of an enlarged circular, rotating dome with an image of the Israeli flag on it. An October 11, 2023, reply on X (archived here) from @SphereVegas, the official account of the Sphere Entertainment Co. refuted the claim that it displayed the Israeli flag:
This image was photoshopped. Please reach us with any questions about Sphere.
A Google News search for "Vegas Sphere Israeli flag" (archived here) produced no results to corroborate the claim, although if such a display had occurred, it would have received widespread news coverage.
It was reported recently that the outside of the Sphere, where the 1.2 million LED puck lights can be seen, would typically project a series of rotating imagery that runs throughout the course of any given day. For instance, a search on Instagram for "Las Vegas Sphere" displayed various images and videos projected onto the Sphere.
Other Lead Stories fact checks that mention the Hamas-Israel conflict are here.
