In a striking display of the left and the fake news media refusing to learn their lesson, they went all-in on a baseless hoax, claiming Elon Musk gave a “Nazi salute” during a rally celebrating Trump’s second inauguration. Instead of acknowledging the truth, the left has doubled down on a disinformation campaign aimed at undermining Trump’s second term.
Anyone who has seen the footage knows it wasn’t a Nazi salute, yet the left just couldn’t resist ginning up another hoax to scandalize Trump’s presidency.
You can watch it by scrubbing to about the 45-second mark:
“Wow, that sure looked like what it was,” late-night host Stephen Colbert said earlier this week. “Now, I don’t know if Musk intended to do a Nazi salute. He says he is not a Nazi, but what I do know is people who aren’t Nazis know how to avoid doing a Nazi salute.”
So, I guess this makes Stephen Colbert a Nazi? pic.twitter.com/NI8YcqtWqH
— Matt Margolis (@mattmargolis) January 23, 2025
I’m sure many of us were hoping that in light of Trump’s decisive victory in November, things would be different in his second term. Clearly, that just isn’t the case.
Even Snopes, which fancies itself an objective fact-checker, refused to debunk the claim that Musk gave a Nazi salute.
During his brief speech — available in full on YouTube — Musk said to the crowd gathered in honor of Trump's victory, "And I just want to say thank you for making it happen. Thank you." He then briskly extended his right hand from his heart to the crowd in front of him. He repeated the gesture for the people behind him. Then, in a moment omitted from the users' videos, he said, placing his hand over his heart, "Thank you. My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured, thanks to you."
[…]
We emphasize that as of this writing, Musk has not explained the gesture, nor can we read his mind to learn precisely what he intended by it. It's possible it was a purposeful Nazi salute; it could also have been entirely innocent. The available evidence is too scant to draw a solid conclusion.
While Snopes wouldn’t debunk it, despite clearly recognizing the gesture was not a Nazi salute, the Anti-Defamation League did debunk it.
This is a delicate moment. It’s a new day and yet so many are on edge. Our politics are inflamed, and social media only adds to the anxiety.
— ADL (@ADL) January 20, 2025
It seems that @elonmusk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on…
It’s really sick that at a time when the mainstream media has been raising alarm bells about disinformation, they continue to actively engage in it to serve their agenda.
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Curiously, the mainstream media had nothing to say about these incidents:
Holy shlit. Is everyone who voted for Harris-Walz a Nazi supporter??? pic.twitter.com/fCCsP6rRcA
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 22, 2025
Democrats making Nazi salutes the media failed to notice. pic.twitter.com/ekhppYudIi
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) January 21, 2025
Of the people outraged at Elon allegedly doing the Nazi salute, I wonder how many expressed the same outrage at the countless Nazi salutes at the pro Palestinian protests around the world? Because if they were silent then, they are merely virtue signaling now. pic.twitter.com/vM6OJkR8bd
— 🚨 Katherine Brodsky (@mysteriouskat) January 22, 2025
The Left has a serious Heil Hitler Nazi issue that needs to be addressed. pic.twitter.com/an9aneALgQ
— Leftism (@LeftismForU) January 22, 2025
I'm sure Snopes wouldn't argue that, since they can't read the minds of the above-pictured Democrats with their arms held up, they can't determine what their intention is, and therefore it is possible those were purposeful Nazi salutes. Heck, when any of the above incidents happened, there wasn't even a controversy about it. Why? Because no one believes those people were giving Nazi salutes, just like no one actually believes Musk was, either.
Yet, the hunger from the left to promote disinformation when it suits their needs is so strong they simply don't care.
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