Tech mogul Elon Musk expressed frustration over X’s algorithm on Friday for seeing posts about his controversial gesture at President Donald Trump’s inaugural rally.
After being heavily criticized for making a hand gesture, which many interpreted as resembling the fascist salute used in Nazi Germany, he said, “If I see one more damn Nazi salute in my feed, I’m gonna lose my mind. This algorithm sucks!!”
He then went on a spree to troll his critics by posting clips and memes in an attempt to defend himself. He replied to a video of French President Emmanuel Macron extending his arm from his heart to a crowd, saying “Seriously” when a news aggregator questioned if anyone had also called Macron a Nazi.
Further, Musk posted a Gif of Arnold Schwarzenegger extending his right arm upward, along with the caption, “He’s Austrian too,” seemingly drawing a comparison between the interpretation of his own gesture and Schwarzenegger’s motion.
Making light of the situation Musk had earlier posted, “Don’t say Hess to Nazi accusations! Some people will Goebbels anything down! Stop Gőring your enemies! His pronouns would’ve been He/Himmler! Bet you did nazi that coming,” referencing notorious Nazi figures, which caught the attention of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
The ADL, initially defending Musk earlier in the week, changed their stance and criticized his jokes. Quoting a post calling out Elon Musk over his “joke”, ADL said, “Making inappropriate and highly offensive jokes that trivialize the Holocaust only serve to minimize the evil and inhumanity of Nazi crimes, denigrate the suffering of both victims and survivors and insult the memory of the six million Jews murdered in the Shoah.”
Previously, the organization had described Musk’s hand gesture as “not a Nazi salute” but an “awkward” moment resulting from excitement, calling for understanding and unity in the face of heightened tensions.
Musk had earlier also defended himself by rubbishing the claims of any connection to the Nazi salute. He compared his action to ones used by Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren during their speeches in the past and criticized the “legacy media” for “pure propaganda”.
