The controversy around Elon Musk's inauguration "gesture", which some on social media have compared to a Nazi salute, has led to the reemergence of photos of Barack Obama, Elizabeth Warren, Hillary Clinton, and Kamala Harris, striking poses with their arms outstretched in similar fashion.
Musk, who has been picked by President Donald Trump to lead a government-wide cost-cutting operation called DOGE, caused controversy on Monday after twice making a hand gesture in front of the crowd at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. that bore similarity to the "Sieg Heil" Nazi salute. Popularized in 18th- and 19th-century art depicting Romans, the gesture was co-opted by Adolf Hitler's German Nazi party and has been kept alive ever since by neo-Nazi groups.
The Tesla and SpaceX billionaire said the claims it was a Nazi salute was a "dirty trick." Responding to a user on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Monday night, Musk said "Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired."
Within the controversy that followed, conservative social media users dug up pictures of Democrats to suggest there was a double standard at play.
The Claim
A post on X, formerly Twitter, by the right-wing account Libs of TikTok, posted on January 21, 2025, and viewed more than 100 million times, showed photos of Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris, holding their arms diagonally straight above their head.
The post read: "Can someone direct me to the articles where the media expressed outrage over this? Can't find any..."
In a follow-up post, viewed more than 90 million times, Elon Musk wrote: "The legacy media is pure propaganda. You are the media now."
Another post by the account Doge Designer, posted on January 20, 2025, included the photos of Obama and Harris, and wrote: "Why isn't CNN showing this?
"'Obama and Kamala performing a Nazi salute.'"
A post by user Sassafrass84, posted on January 21, 2025, included the photos and said: "Here, we go again with the msm narrative. Calling Elon a nazi. Does this make Obama, Hillary, and kamala one too?"
The Facts
Nobody, barring Musk himself, knows what the intention behind Musk's gesture was. His defenders may see nothing dubious or referential in the gesture; what the posts above imply is that others should also face the same scrutiny for similar gestures, again regardless of their intentions.
However, these photos have been stripped of context and, in their original context, are not the same as the gesture Musk made. Without speculating on Musk's intention, there are only limited similarities between the images of the gestures made by Obama, Harris, Clinton, and Warren and the gesture made by Musk.
The photo of Hillary Clinton was taken from a December 2007 rally, captured by Associated Press photographer Rex Arbogast. Newsweek could not find video footage from the event that further contextualized the photo.
There is not enough information to show how Clinton addressed the audience or if there were more convincing similarities to a fascist gesture. Newsweek found no reports or accusations that suggested Clinton had made such a mistake. Clinton has repeatedly condemned white supremacy.
Newsweek has contacted a media representative for the Clinton Foundation via email for comment.
Elizabeth Warren's photo is a screengrab from footage of the 2016 Democratic National Convention, where Warren spoke onstage. As the footage shows, Warren waved, clapped, and gestured to the crowd, as she thanked "Massachusetts for the great honor of serving you as your Senator." At one point, Warren clapped and threw her arm up straight, following it with a wave.
Newsweek has contacted a media representative for Warren via email for comment.
Neither Harris nor Obama made a gesture that could be reasonably considered a salute; both can be seen holding their arms out at their side.
The photo of Obama, captured by AFP photographer Saul Loeb in January 2010, was from a Republican GOP House Issues Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. Footage of the event is available on YouTube.
Although it's hard to tell the moment the photo was taken, Obama makes a gesture similar to the photo around halfway through the conference while discussing healthcare.
Kamala Harris's photo was screengrabbed from the 2019 South Carolina Democratic Party Convention in Columbia, S.C. Harris can be seen in footage available online, repeatedly pointing in the air to her side as she criticized President Donald Trump. Her movement bore no convincing similarity to fascist symbology or the gesture Musk made.
Newsweek has contacted a media representative for Harris via email for comment.
It should be noted, to address the claims of a double standard, that the attention by critics on Musk's gesture has been fueled by his recent political remarks.
The social media posts do not mention Musk's recent support of far-right political figures and causes. In January 2025, Musk called for Tommy Robinson, arguably the U.K.'s most prominent far-right figure, to be released from prison. Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence for contempt of court after he aired a documentary that a judge said contained libelous claims about a 15-year-old Syrian refugee. It is his fifth prison term.
Musk has also said that the German far-right political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the "only" party that can "save Germany," while rejecting the idea that the party is "rightwing extremist." The Anti-Defamation League has referred to the AfD as "an extremist, anti-immigrant party." In May 2024, a German court rejected an appeal by the AfD against its classification as a "suspected" far-right extremist organization, as reported by German media outlet Deutsche Welle.
"The court finds there is sufficient evidence that the AfD pursues goals that run against the human dignity of certain groups and against democracy," judges of the court wrote. The AfD said it would make another appeal.
While Newsweek cannot verify the intention of Musk's inauguration gesture, none of the Democratic politicians mentioned above have expressed support for the far-right groups or individuals that Musk has, a fact neglected from the social media posts by Libs of TikTok and others.
The gesture that Musk made also bears a more similar resemblance to Hitler's fascist gesture, adopted by modern-era hard-right groups, of repeatedly moving the arm from the chest and into a salute. While Musk repeated his gesture only twice, there is an arguable similarity, regardless of Musk's intention.
Newsweek has contacted media representatives for Tesla, X, and SpaceX via email for comment.
Reaction to Musk's behavior has been mixed. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), posting in part in response to criticism of Musk's gesture on X, wrote: "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 edge.
"In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath."
In response to the ADL, Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote: "Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity.
"People can officially stop listening to you as any sort of reputable source of information now. You work for them. Thank you for making that crystal clear to all."
Libs of TikTok, the social media account that has received the most views for making the comparison between Musk and other public figures, is considered a highly influential right-wing commentator whose content has been promoted by Donald Trump Jr., and Tucker Carlson among other conservatives.
The Ruling
Misleading Material.
All of these images have been stripped of context and there is no verifiable information that these figures made a "Nazi" salute. The photos of Harris and Obama do not depict what could be understood, even insincerely, as that gesture.
None of the Democratic politicians referred to have supported the prominent far-right figures that Musk has recently shown admiration of, a fact neglected from the social media posts by Libs of TikTok and others despite the claims of a double standard.
Musk has referred to the argument against him as "dirty tricks" and Newsweek is not making a judgment as to the intention behind his own gesture.
The claims specifically against Obama, Harris, Clinton, or Warren are misleading because they are based on media that has been altered from its original form, either intentionally or unintentionally.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
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