No, in the sense that other users had to do the same thing in order for flags to 'win' over upvotes. Yes, in the sense that your flag probably had more effect than you assumed it would.

I wouldn't say you were super wrong about how the system works or is intended to work! I'd say you and the other flaggers misapplied the site guidelines in this case. You're right that it's moderation's job to correct for such failure modes.