Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s gesture during a speech sparked backlash, with Spain’s deputy prime minister announcing she was giving up using her X platform after the gesture was likened to a Nazi salute.
Elon Musk sparked controversy for a gesture he repeatedly made during Donald Trump’s inauguration that was compared to a Nazi salute, sparking outcry and disbelief, as well as justifications for shares of the South African billionaire.
At a post-inauguration rally on Monday, Musk thanked supporters of US President Trump by placing his palm on his chest and extending a stiff right arm toward the crowd.
“I just want to thank you for making this happen,” the owner of SpaceX, X and Tesla told those gathered before repeating his gesture.
Spanish Deputy Prime Minister and Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz said she would delete her X account in response to the move, calling the image “stony.”
“For months, Elon Musk has been using in doing so, influence public opinion,” said Ms. Díaz.
Opinions are divided on whether the gesture qualifies as a Nazi salute. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a history professor at New York University, said on X: “Historian of fascism. It was a Nazi salute and a very bellicose salute.”
Israeli academic and activist Shai Davidai wrote on Instagram that “doing a Nazi salute is never okay.”
“The question is not whether you are anti-Semitic or not, the question is whether you normalize what should not be normalized,” Mr. Davidai said.
For his part, Mr. Musk retweeted a message that read: “Can we please stop calling people Nazis?”, replying “Yes, exactly.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an international NGO known for its campaigns against anti-Semitism, defines the Nazi or Hitler salute as “raising the outstretched right arm with the palm down.”
According to the ADL, in Nazi Germany the salute was often “accompanied by chants or shouts of ‘Heil Hitler’ or ‘Sieg Heil'”, while “neo-Nazis and white supremacists used it in the aftermath of the Second World War.”
The ADL said in a statement Monday that Musk made an “awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute.”
“We understand that people are on edge. At this time, all parties should give themselves some grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath,” the group said.
Meanwhile, right-wing extremists and nationalists praised Musk’s actions on Monday, whether accidental or not.
The leader of US neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe reposted Mr Musk’s clip, writing: “I don’t care if this is a mistake. I’m going to revel in all the crying about this “.
Andrew Torba, owner of the extremist platform Gab, said: “Incredible things are already happening.”
Additional sources • adaptation: Serge Duchêne
