On Inauguration Day 2017, President Donald Trump’s first day in the White House, the mainstream media delivered the opening salvo in a long list of hoaxes. The press claimed that Trump had removed a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. from display in the Oval Office. By the time the news was corrected, it was too late, as the Twitterverse blew up. Four years later, it is the same old story.
Elon Musk Got Trumped
The Fourth Estate and social media dropped a new hoax in record fashion. This time, the press focused its efforts on the Tesla Motors and SpaceX CEO, claiming he made the “Sieg Heil” used by the National Socialist German Workers’ Party at the end of a raucous speech before the Capital One Arena audience.
A chorus of news outlets provided readers with quite the headlines:
- The Guardian: “Elon Musk appears to make back-to-back fascist salutes at inauguration rally.”
- Yahoo: “Musk causes stir with ‘Nazi’ salute at inauguration.”
- Rolling Stone: “Right-Wing Extremists Are Abuzz Over Musk’s Straight-Arm Salute.”
- The Wrap: “Elon Musk’s Salute to Trump Crowd Condemned as Nazi Signal.”
PBS News wrote on social media platform X: “Billionaire Elon Musk gave what appeared to be a fascist salute Monday while making a speech at the post-inauguration celebration for President Donald Trump at the Capital One Arena.” During a live CNN broadcast, the anchors called it “a salute” and added: “I think our viewers are smart, and they can take a look at that, but it certainly was; it’s not something that you typically see at American political rallies.”
Even politicians got in on the Elon Musk hoax, including Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), who clutched his suspenders. “I never imagined we would see the day when what appears to be a Heil Hitler salute would be made behind the Presidential seal,” he said. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) lambasted the ADL for not condemning Musk. “Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity,” Ocasio-Cortez stated.
Of course, one glance at a photo shared worldwide or an edited five-second clip would show Musk performing the “Sieg Heil.” However, watching his entire speech, particularly the part taken out of context, reveals something completely different from what journalists were pontificating. Here is the text of this portion of Musk’s remarks (emphasis ours)
“This is what victory feels like. And this was no ordinary victory. This was a fork in the road of human civilization. There are elections that come and go. Some elections are important, some are not, but this one really mattered, and I just want to say thank you for making it happen.
“My heart goes out to you.
“It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured. We’re going to have safe cities, secure borders, sensible spending, basic stuff, and we’re going to take DOGE to Mars.”
So, instead of giving the Nazi salute, Musk gestured his heart going out to the crowd. Another facepalm moment, indeed.
Hypocrisy and Ignorance
Because X is no longer the home of censorship, a flood of users quickly identified past instances of politicians on the other side of the aisle performing similar gestures during rallies or at the end of speeches. From former Vice President Kamala Harris to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), these individuals appeared to be delivering the “Sieg Heil,” but they were not. And yet, members of the press did not feign outrage, howl at the moon, or partake in good old-fashioned handwringing.
Ultimately, this is another example of the mainstream media not learning from their behavior during Trump 1.0. It is safe to predict that journalists, anchors, and prominent social media voices will run the same predictable plays from 2017 to 2021. This time, X and its Community Notes will be the arbiters of truth, slaying every hoax, falsehood, and misleading reportage emanating from the corridors of the Fourth Estate.
