“We are so back,” wrote on well-known Holocaust denier. Only hours after Donald Trump began his second term, Elon Musk made the administration’s values crystal clear with two unequivocal Nazi salutes while speaking at an inauguration rally. “Elections come and go; some elections are important, some are not, but this one really mattered,” Musk told the crowd at DC’s Capital One Arena. “And I just want to say thank you for making it happen. Thank you.” At that, he slapped his right hand across his chest, grunted, and threw his arm straight in the air with his palm down – a clear Nazi salute. He then turned to the crowd behind him and did it again. The moment has enlivened neo-Nazis across the country who believe Musk was signaling to them. “WE ARE F**KING BACK,” wrote an administrator of a Nazi meme page on Telegram beside a clip of Musk doing the salute, according to Wired. Christopher Pohlhaus, who leads the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe wrote on his Telegram channel of the moment: “I don’t care if this was a mistake, I’m going to enjoy the tears over it.” Holocaust denier and right-wing commentator Evan Kilgore called the moment “incredible” and declared, “We are so back.” In response to the salute, Democratic Organizer Gabrien Gregory wrote on Bluesky, “They aren’t hiding it anymore. We need to be ready for the political fight of our lives.” (…) Musk has a history of supporting far-right extremists and specifically neo-Nazis. Last year, his company X gave “Premium” blue checkmarks to at least 150 paid neo-Nazi subscribers. These subscriber accounts regularly violated X’s policies against hate speech by reposting hateful views, swastika imagery, Holocaust denialism, speeches from Adolf Hitler, and antisemitic content praising violence against Jews and other groups. Several of the posts received millions of views in just seven days in March 2024, including one repeating the debunked claim that 6 million Jews didn’t die in the Holocaust. The subscribers pay $8 a month and benefit from “prioritization” that helps make their posts visible to others. Thousands of unverified non-subscribers repost this content, spreading and normalizing neo-Nazi views. Since Musk bought X for $44 billion in October 2022, hate content has proliferated on the site. Musk himself reinstated numerous right-wing, anti-LGBTQ+, and neo-Nazi accounts that had previously been banned from the platform. He has also repeated transphobic talking points and neo-Nazi conspiracy theories like the “Great Replacement Theory,” causing big-name advertisers to flee. The site’s ad revenue has decreased by 50% and it may lose another $75 million as advertisers stay away. Musk has responded by telling advertisers to “f**k off” and suing watchdog organizations that have reported on X’s hate speech problem
via lgbtnation: Neo-Nazis rejoice over Elon Musk’s Nazi salute at Donald Trump’s inauguration celebration
