Elon Musk faced backlash for a hand gesture at President Trump's inauguration, which some deemed a Nazi salute. Musk denied the accusation, and his supporters countered by highlighting similar gestures from Democratic figures, arguing for consistency in criticism. PolitiFact examined the images and found that while some postures were similar, the context and intent differed significantly.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk faced criticism for a hand gesture he made during President Donald Trump 's Inauguration Day ceremonies. Some perceived the gesture as resembling a Nazi salute, which Musk vehemently denied.
Musk's online supporters countered the accusations by circulating images of former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and other prominent figures, arguing that similar hand gestures from these individuals had not sparked similar outrage. The photos often depicted these leaders with their arms briefly raised at various angles while moving or gesturing. Notably, none of these instances at the time were interpreted as Nazi salutes. The posts arguing against the criticism of Musk's gesture were flagged by Meta as part of its efforts to combat the spread of misinformation on its platform. Musk himself addressed the controversy on X, the social media platform he owns, claiming that he was being targeted by the 'legacy media' for a harmless gesture of expressing empathy.He cited a post from the conservative X account Libs of TikTok, which juxtaposed images of Clinton, Obama, Warren, and Harris with their hands in similar positions to Musk's. Musk asserted that the 'legacy media' was engaged in 'pure propaganda.' PolitiFact examined the images used by Musk's defenders and found that while some shared similarities in posture, the context and intent behind the gestures differed significantly. For instance, Harris's arm raise during a speech condemning Trump's policies was clearly directional, meant to illustrate a point about moving backward in time. Meanwhile, Obama's occasional arm raises during his speeches were used to emphasize points and were not isolated, distinct gestures like Musk's. Clinton, like Obama, frequently employed arm gestures to emphasize points during her speeches, holding her arm at various angles with a flat palm. Similarly, Warren's raised left arm while thanking the crowd at the 2016 Democratic National Convention was a part of her celebratory wave and not a deliberate, isolated movement resembling a Nazi salute. Swift's image, used out of context, was also manipulated to appear as if she was extending her right arm, whereas the original video showed her waving with her left hand. Ultimately, while some postures may superficially resemble the Nazi salute, context, intent, and the overall nature of the gesture are crucial in determining its meaning
Elon Musk Nazi Salute Donald Trump Inauguration Kamala Harris Barack Obama Hillary Clinton Misinformation Politifact
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