Elon Musk's seemingly innocuous hand gesture at Donald Trump's inauguration event has ignited a firestorm of controversy, with far-right extremists interpreting it as a Nazi salute. While Musk dismisses the claims as 'dirty tricks' and 'propaganda,' the gesture has resonated deeply within neo-Nazi and white supremacist circles, fueling their narratives and emboldening their platforms.
Elon Musk 's hand gestures during an inauguration event for US President Donald Trump , which resembled Nazi salutes, have gained traction in certain far-right extremist online communities. Several neo-Nazi leaders have disseminated clips of the viral moment from Musk's Monday speech, where the billionaire brought his hand to his chest and extended it straight out twice before stating: 'My heart goes out to you.
' 'Donald Trump White Power moment,' declared the head of a neo-Nazi group in Australia on Telegram, in one of several posts reviewed by Agence France-Presse. Many individuals, including historians, have drawn comparisons between the gesture and the 'sieg heil' used by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler — criticism that Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has dismissed as 'dirty tricks' and 'propaganda.' On the neo-Nazi forum Stormfront, a user posted an image of Musk striking the pose accompanied by the text, 'Heil Hitler.'A chapter of the far-right Proud Boys militia group, whose members were among those pardoned by Trump for storming the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, also shared video of the moment on Telegram. The group conveyed a slightly altered message: 'Hail Trump!' Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, stated unequivocally that 'there is no question among white supremacists that Musk was making a Nazi salute.' Beirich asserted that far-right figures were 'more than thrilled' and that 'generally, they believe Musk's raised arm is an endorsement of their beliefs.' T. Kenny Fountain, a researcher at the University of Virginia specializing in rhetoric and extremism, emphasized that 'Musk's intention is important, but so is reception.' Fountain wrote on Bluesky, 'If an eager audience interprets this gesture as a meaningful acknowledgment, we are in dangerous territory. Unsurprisingly, it seems many on the far-right are reading it that way.' Andrew Torba, founder of the social media platform Gab, posted a photo of Musk and remarked, 'Incredible things are happening already.' Christopher Pohlhaus, the leader of the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe, shared a side-by-side video edit on Telegram that juxtaposed Musk's movements with footage of the group's masked members performing Nazi salutes while brandishing swastika flags. Followers responded with lightning bolt emojis, an allusion to the Nazi regime's SS paramilitaries. On Musk's social media platform X, an anonymous account featuring pinned Hitler speeches shared another merged video comparing Musk's gesture to clips of Hitler. The post stated, 'Sieg Heil?? Are we so back?' It garnered over 2 million views
Extremism Social Media ELON MUSK NAZI SALUTE FAR-RIGHT EXTREMISM DONALD TRUMP WHITE SUPREMACY PROPAGANDA SOCIAL MEDIA STORMFRONT PROUD BOYS BLOOD TRIBE
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