this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2025
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The mainstream press failed to accurately describe the hand gesture that Elon Musk made twice at Trump’s Inauguration Day rally, setting a troubling precedent for the second Trump era.

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[–] RangerJosey@lemmy.ml 11 points 3 days ago

"Corporate Media"

Where's the confusion?

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 22 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I've seen people here on Lemmy, people I don't think are just trolling, that are finding convoluted reasons to excuse it as not a Nazi salute. And I am so fucking tired of it. Listen to virtually everything he has ever said on the subject of race and gender and sexual orientation and other such things. Maybe if he didn't have a really long history of being a racist, maybe if he didn't support the Germany's modern Nazi party, maybe if he isn't trying to get an unapologetic Nazi out of prison in the UK, I would consider that he accidentally did a Nazi salute (twice). But that's not the reality.

"Oh sure, he's a bigot that loves Nazis, but that wasn't a Nazi salute" is some real fucking bullshit.

[–] nova_ad_vitum@lemmy.ca 5 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Internet forums have always been full of contrarians who want to be the only ones to know the "real truth". That explains a lot of it. Others just get lost in the logic of it. I'f I can't prove that he held true Nazism in his heart when he did it, does it count as a Nazi salute?' This is sort of futile question they ask. The fact that there's broad consensus on what this was makes them more likely to try to logic their way into a special minority position.

[–] JusticeForPorygon@lemmy.blahaj.zone 149 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Apologies to whoever originally posted this I downloaded it earlier today

[–] samus12345@lemm.ee 11 points 5 days ago

Luigi Mangione made an odd-looking gesture towards a CEO.

[–] jabjoe@feddit.uk 52 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The thing that my stomach drop is the crowd cheered. Not a shocked intake of breath or booing. They cheered. He did a sieg heil and they cheered it. If you cheer a Nazi doing Nazi things, you're also a Nazi. The US has a Nazi infestation. Even if they get another remotely fair election to correct this, it won't be accepted, again, and insurrection2 will have been prepared for, for 5 years. I feel that sieg heil of the richest person on earth marked the end of American democracy.

[–] cultsuperstar@lemmy.world 10 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Republicans will never accept another election if a Democrat wins. This is our future, where every election they lose is contested. That is, if we have another election. I think we're heading to a pseudo democracy like Russia, where they can vote but Putin always wins in a landslide.

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[–] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 57 points 5 days ago

Yeah, I think I wholeheartedly agree with the Die Zeit journalist. If a right-wing person does a Hitler salute in front of a right wing audience... It's probably a Hitler salute... Context matters and it's not like Musk usually shares left-wing perspective on his platform. We know for a fact whom and what he sympathizes with...

[–] ShareMySims@lemmy.dbzer0.com 27 points 4 days ago

Because US corporate media is owned by fellow fascists.

Next?

[–] orcrist@lemm.ee 59 points 5 days ago (3 children)

It is a fun activity to think of legal standards here. Of course we don't know what he was thinking for sure, and we never will, just like everyone else in the world every day of our lives. But we can and do judge people by their actions... In other words, where do people want to put this Nazi salute? What is their certainty about his action? Below are the legal standards.

  • Reasonable suspicion
  • Probable cause
  • Preponderance of evidence (more likely than not)
  • Clear and convincing
  • Proof beyond a reasonable doubt

Where would you rank the Nazi salute conclusion? I think proof beyond reasonable doubt, and perhaps we could reasonably debate claims that it's a level or two weaker than that. But the deniers, they want to say there's not even reasonable suspicion, and that is a sad joke.

[–] jonne@infosec.pub 47 points 5 days ago

If it was something that came out of the blue, I might be more inclined to give the benefit of the doubt, but the man follows, regularly retweets and converses with actual (as in, they call themselves that) Nazis on Twitter.

It just shows that the mainstream media (and the ADL) aren't really interested in the truth.

[–] AstridWipenaugh@lemmy.world 18 points 5 days ago

It was a Nazi salute without a doubt. The only question is if it was accidental or intentional. Musk being a far-right operative and making a bunch of Nazi puns as his response instead of an apology for the misunderstanding makes it clear it was not an accident.

[–] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I’m pretty sure what you mentioned are principles used in courts of law. As a rule, journalists can and should call a spade a spade. They don’t need to prove beyond reasonable doubt what he was thinking.

[–] pyre@lemmy.world 21 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

because a huge part of fascism is the merging of corporations with the government.

the corporate media is covering for nazis for the same reason the leader enshittificator Alphabet, the otherwise twitter's direct competitor Evil Corp, and of course the slavery warehouse Amazon were all represented with their figureheads Sunil Bakshi, the T-600, and Lex Luthor alongside that Troglodyte Phony Stark. they're merging.

That is the precise thing your average true believer right wing "libertarian" doesn't understand about fascism.

It doesn't matter whether the state or the corporations absorb the other, the merging of these power structures (and religion as well) is the goal. The result is still a tyranny that can only be escaped with war.

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 56 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] happydoors@lemm.ee 14 points 5 days ago

I don’t disagree with your point but at least half of America isn’t reading any of those sources and instead live on major tv network and they’re the ones talking about the ‘gesture’

[–] BigBenis@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Because there's just enough "plausible deniability" that they could face costly legal challenges by oligarchs who have endless money to throw at bogus claims

[–] ZMoney@lemmy.world 23 points 5 days ago

The corporate press is now just a pro-kleptocracy propaganda outlet. Representing the views of an oligarchy isn't exactly "mainstream" so we should stop calling it that.

[–] Bronzebeard@lemm.ee 18 points 4 days ago

They worked very hard to get the Nazis elected. That's why.

[–] Rageagainstbelief@lemmy.world 41 points 5 days ago (11 children)

I spent the larger part of the day trying to convince my sister. I don’t think it worked and now I’m just depressed about it.

[–] BlueLineBae@midwest.social 92 points 5 days ago (6 children)

The best argument I've heard so far is "If it's not a Nazi salute, do it at work tomorrow."

[–] ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 52 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

I tried that, got promoted to Chief of Police. I didn't even work in Law Enforcement

[–] Delphia@lemmy.world 15 points 5 days ago (1 children)

And if its "just a hand gesture, try giving a cop the finger"

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Even better, try giving a cop the full Zack de la Rocha!

(Do not)

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[–] xapr@lemmy.sdf.org 26 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Have you shown her the side-by-side GIF of him doing the same move as the H-man? There's another one where it shows him doing it exactly like a group of neo-nazis on a street demonstration. Mirror image.

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[–] Sanctus@lemmy.world 33 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Because the Nazis own them

[–] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 19 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (4 children)

Most major corporations are owned or operated by sociopathic oligarchs who would prefer to implement a fascist dictatorship, and be a part of the state capitalist monopoly, than have to pay higher taxes or deal with regulations.

This is what happens when society rewards psychopathy/narcissism with wealth and power.

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[–] Lemjukes@lemm.ee 18 points 5 days ago
[–] ChowJeeBai@lemmy.world 25 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Because he's rich. And a celebrity. Americans love them their rich celebrities.

[–] pennomi@lemmy.world 16 points 5 days ago (2 children)

And more importantly, rich celebrities will sue you for defamation even if you’re right. That can cost a lot of money to defend against.

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[–] Snowclone@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Same reason they reported everything Harris did as some wild mistake or deeply questionable, and reported every insane thing Trump said like it was just a well meaning elder statesmen making open ended questions to contemplate.

[–] Itdidnttrickledown@lemmy.world 11 points 4 days ago

Because they are saluting right back at him.

[–] jaggedrobotpubes@lemmy.world 20 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Lemmy should maintain a list of competent and incompetent news sources. In lots of places.

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[–] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 22 points 5 days ago

Because they’re cowards and have been for quite some time.

[–] HappySkullsplitter@lemmy.world 21 points 5 days ago (3 children)

Fear of retaliation

I'm pretty sure that was the point

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[–] forrgott@lemm.ee 18 points 5 days ago

They're all hoping to become maga state run media.

Also, they have no problem with Nazis.

This isn't complicated. Hardly worth the time it took to post. 🙄

[–] metaStatic@kbin.earth 17 points 5 days ago

because they're complicit

[–] exploitedamerican@lemm.ee 2 points 3 days ago (2 children)

The media is inherently fascist. Wall street military and prison industry profiteers control the narrative of the legacy media outlets they all own and they own our politicians and political process as well. They just keep lying to all of us and since all the maga morons are dumb enough to believe whatever they are told they just hope the rest of us will bend over and accept they are right. they’ve waged aggressive psychological warfare against the us population for decades. Its created a subsection of the population dumb enough to unquestioningly believe whatever musk and trump say so much so that it if they came home to find both musk and trump raw dog tag teaming their wives they would without question accept it as 100% truth when they are told the cum dripping from their wive’s oral vaginal and anal openings is just a little rain from the open window. While pointing to a closed window nowhere near the marital bed they just defiled in the middle of a sunny day during a July drought and heat wave

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[–] DicJacobus@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

Large Media is part of the same game, they're basically placing stock options bets on the economy and national / unrest to profit as long as they can until the shooting and looting starts

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