Image of Musk post comparing MAGA to Nazi Germany is fabricated | Fact check
The claim: Image shows Elon Musk post saying MAGA will succeed where 'Nazi Germany failed'
A Jan. 23 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) includes a screenshot of a purported X post from Elon Musk that shows the billionaire raising his arm straight in the air while standing behind a lectern.
"What can I say? I got caught up in the moment," reads the supposed post from Musk. "But it wasn't a 'seig heil (sic).' Why would I pledge allegiance to a nation 80 years dead? Why would I lionize a subdued and failed state? MAGA is the future, and will, in fact, succeed in all the ways Nazi Germany failed to."
Another Instagram post with the same image was liked more than 200 times in two days before it was deleted.
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Our rating: Manipulated media
The image is altered. There is no record of the post on Musk's X profile.
Image of purported X post is a fabrication
The Instagram post taps into the discussion over the widely covered arm gesture Musk made at a post-inauguration event for President Donald Trump on Jan. 20. Some observers said Musk made a fascist salute or a "Sieg heil" as he spoke to a celebratory crowd at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Others called the gesture "awkward" but dismissed comparisons of it to a Nazi salute.
The image of the supposed X post from Musk explaining the gesture and comparing the Make America Great Again political movement to Nazi Germany is a fabrication, however. Musk did not make the post.
It doesn't appear on his X profile. Nor has any reputable news organization included the supposed X post in its coverage of Musk's straight-armed gesture.
The image includes another strong indicator it's been manipulated. Many versions of the image circulating on social media have the same "1.8M Views" measurement on the bottom of the supposed X post. If the post from Musk had been authentic, it would likely have been screenshotted and shared by some of his 214 million followers with differing view numbers.
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Musk addressed the backlash in a Jan. 20 X post, writing that Democrats "need better dirty tricks" because comparisons to Adolf Hitler have grown "tired."
Paste BN has debunked an array of social media claims involving Musk, including false assertions that he posted a "cool" image of himself sitting behind the president's desk in the Oval Office, that he blocked Disney from posting LGBTQ pride content on X and that he bought ABC and canceled "The View."
Paste BN reached out to the Instagram user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Logically Facts also debunked the claim.
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