The world’s richest man changed his name on X to Kekius Maximus, and his profile picture to Pepe the Frog in a gladiator costume. The days between Christmas and New Year’s Eve can be a disorienting time for many. Including, apparently, the world’s richest man. In between sharing photos of furry animals, bragging about the size of his rocket and dunking on the very concept of taxation, Elon Musk took a moment to change his username and profile picture on the social media platform X to an alt-right meme beloved by white-supremacist trolls. Musk’s new moniker, Kekius Maximus, is a meme that combines Pepe the Frog with the Maximus character from the movie Gladiator. The alt-right has embraced Pepe as the “protector god” of a satirical religion dedicated to chaos and anti-political correctness, according to research by the Southern Poverty Law Center (a group despised by Musk and others.) By using something as farcical as a frog deity meme, right-wing trolls can spread their ideas without having to address the “vicious core of white male nationalism they embrace,” according to the SPLC. As with all things Musk, it’s not clear whether his new alter ego is just a way to troll anyone who disagrees with him or whether there’s the potential for self-enrichment. On Monday, MAGA’s civil war over H-1B visas reignited a debate about whether Musk has a burner account on X that he uses to post fawning interactions with his official account—a practice known as “sock-puppeting.” For the past year, the Adrian Dittmann account has offered such a passionate defense of Musk—and used such a similar rhetorical style—that users have wondered if they are one and the same. That speculation came to a head during the H-1B visa debate, as internet sleuths dug back into Dittmann’s old posts for clues. Musk’s new Kekius Maximus identity could just be a way to troll users who are convinced Musk has a burner account, with the added benefit of offending anyone who knows that Pepe is associated with SPLC-designated hate groups.
via daily beast: Elon Musk Assumes New X Identity Linked to White Supremacists