#Andrew Torba

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Sarah Posner for TPM:

I am a journalist who has covered the Christian right for two decades. Over the past three years, I began to more frequently use the term “Christian nationalism” to describe the movement I cover. But I did not start using a new term to suggest its proponents’ ideology had changed. Instead, the term had come into more common usage in the Trump era, now regularly used by academics, journalists, and pro-democracy activists to describe a movement that insists America is a “Christian nation” — that is, an illiberal, nominally democratic theocracy, rather than a pluralistic secular democracy. To me, the phrase was highly descriptive of the movement I’ve dedicated my career to covering, and neatly encapsulates the core threat the Christian right poses to freedom and equality. From its top leaders and influencers down to the grassroots — politically mobilized white evangelicals, the foot soldiers of the Christian right — its proponents believe that God divinely ordained America to be a Christian nation; that this Christian nation has come under attack by liberals and secularists; and that patriotic Christians must engage in spiritual warfare to rid America of demonic forces, and in political action to restore its Christian heritage. That includes taking political steps — as a voter, as an elected official, as a lawyer, as a judge — to ensure that America is governed according to a “biblical worldview.”

If you want to see that definition in action, look no further than the career of House Speaker Mike Johnson. Seventeen years ago, when I interviewed Johnson, then a lawyer with the Christian right legal powerhouse Alliance Defending Freedom, I would have labeled him a loyal soldier in the Christian right’s legal army trying to bring down the separation of church and state. He is a product of and a participant in a sprawling religious and political infrastructure that has made the movement’s successes possible, from politically active megachurches, to culture-shaping organizations like Focus on the Family, to political players like the Family Research Council, to the legal force in his former employer ADF. 

In today’s parlance, Johnson is a Christian nationalist — although he, like most of his compatriots, has certainly not embraced the label. But Mike Johnson the House Speaker is still Mike Johnson the lawyer I interviewed all those years ago: an evangelical called to politics to be a “servant leader” to a Christian nation, dedicated to its governance according to a biblical worldview: against church-state separation, for expanded rights for conservative Christians, adamantly against abortion and LGBTQ rights, and especially, currently, trans rights. That mindset is still the beating heart of the Christian right, even as the movement, and other movements in the far-right space, have radicalized in the Trump era, taking on new forms and embracing a range of solutions to the apocalyptic trajectory they see America to be on. Different movements imagining a version of Christian supremacy exist side by side — different strains that often borrow ideas from one another, and that fit comfortably under the banner of Christian nationalism.  

The term “Christian nationalism” became popularized during Trump’s presidency for a few reasons. First, Trump, who first ran in 2016 on a nativist platform with the nationalist slogan “Make America Great Again,” was and still is dependent on white evangelicals to win elections and maintain a hold on power. He is consequently willing to carry out their goals, bringing their ambitions closer to fruition than they’ve ever been in their 45-year marriage to the Republican Party. They have been clear, for example, in crediting him for the downfall of Roe v. Wade, among other assaults on other peoples’ rights.

Second, the prominence of Christian iconography at the January 6 insurrection, and the support for Trump’s stolen election lie before, during, and after January 6 by both Christian right influencers and the grassroots, brought into stark relief that Christian nationalist motivations helped fuel his attempted coup.   Finally, sociologists studying the belief systems of Christian nationalists pushed the term into public usage, as did anti-nationalist Christians, especially after January 6, in order to elevate awareness of the threats Christian nationalism poses to democracy. (The paperback edition of my book, Unholy, which was published in mid-2021 and included a post-January 6 afterword, reflected the increasing usage of the term Christian nationalists by including the term in a fresh subtitle.)

The Trump era, along with the rise of openly Christian nationalist social media sites like Gab, and Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, have given space for otherwise unknown figures, like the rabidly antisemitic Gab founder Andrew Torba, co-author of the book Christian Nationalism: A Biblical Guide For Taking Dominion And Discipling Nations, and Stephen Wolfe, author of the racist book The Case for Christian Nationalism, to enter the Christian nationalism discourse. Although Torba and Wolfe have made waves online, and extremism watchers are rightly alarmed that their tracts could prove influential and radicalizing, they remain distinct from the Christian right. 

[...]

The conventional Christian right does not want a parallel society or a divorce. They believe they are restoring, and will run, the Christian nation God intended America to be — from the inside. They will do that, in their view, through faith (evangelizing others and bringing them to salvation through Jesus Christ); through spiritual warfare (using prayer to battle satanic enemies of Christian America); and through politics and the law (governing and lawmaking from a “biblical worldview” after eviscerating church-state separation). Changes in the evangelical world, particularly the emphasis in the growing charismatic movement on prophecy, signs and wonders, spiritual warfare, the prosperity gospel, and Trumpism, has intensified the prominence of the supernatural in their politics, giving their Christian nationalism its own unmistakable brand.

For decades, Christian right has been completely open about their beliefs and goals. Their quest to take dominion over American institutions by openly evangelizing and instituting Christian supremacist policies sets the Christian right apart from other types of Christian nationalists who might operate in secret, or imagine utopian communities as the ideal way to save themselves from a secular, debauched nation.  The fact that far-right extremists like Torba or Wolfe embrace the Christian nationalist label gives the more conventional Christian right leaders and organizations space to disassociate themselves from it. Some also berate journalists who use it to describe them, accusing them of hurling a left-wing slur at Christians. 

The bottom line is that Christian nationalism takes on different forms, and despite organizational or even ideological differences, ideas can penetrate the often porous borders between different camps. Someone who receives the daily email blast from the Family Research Council might also be drawn to Wolfe’s book, for example. On a more unnerving, macro level, major right-wing and GOP figures, including Marjorie Taylor Greene and the CEO of the Daily Wire, the podcast consortium run by conservative influencer Ben Shapiro, have embraced the rabidly antisemitic, Hitler-admiring antagonist Nick Fuentes, who is Catholic but also is accurately described as a Christian nationalist. The increasingly influential Catholic integralist movement, which seeks a Catholic-inflected replacement for the “liberal order,” is yet another unique form of Christian nationalism.

Sarah Posner wrote for TPM about the variants of Christian Nationalism within the larger Christian Right movement.

[haleviyah]

Andrew Torba has just announced Israeli's have been banned from using Gab(dot)com, a Christian themed Reddit-like forum. He may blame porn bots or scammers for the reason of proposing blocking Israeli IP addresses, however I have watched this man since 2020, his reasons are as fickle as his arguments.

At one point he went as far as channeling Hitler's ghost by stressing the Jews are to blame for the current economic issue, completely ignoring that the government has been purposely printing money and reckless spending that led to the American dollar to be devalued recently.

There are other instances where he suggested as reviving the Constantine-style of economic strategy only giving leeway for Christians - turning this parallel economy into a three way fight, when it should be a team effort to bring the country back from the brink of collapse. From a former-Christian's perspective, I know exactly what Torba is doing: He is purposely trying to implement the the Four Horsemen to destroy America from the inside out. Instead of political or personal affairs motivating him (like a certain senile man is doing in the White House) Torba is destroying American in the name of Christian doctrines, however it's failing.

Torba's main weakness is the use of the internet and dependancy on technology. Alas, despite his only audience being people who don't have a life outside of the box they created the dominion Torba's feeding the main issue.

We worry about caliphate of radical Islam, well radical Christianity is just as dangerous - do we really want another battle of Jerusalem again? Consider the mass slaughter of children, the casualty rate you are going to be dealing with, Torba! If you think you can go up against that ideology armed with ChatBots and no military experience you're a bigger imbecile than I thought.

Even worse: If you even dare to go against Israel like you are now- you're done for, Torba.

DONE.

No exceptions. Don't you dare hide behind your Jesus, grow some balls and own your mistakes like a man!

You extort everyone with your "If they hate Jesus they don't belong here." excuse. So anyone who questions your messiah is basically treated like a nobody? Like you were before you found salvation in Him... is that it?

What happened to "Do unto others as you want others to do unto you?" or "Love your neighbour as yourself?" - do you hate yourself that much you have nothing to offer but bitterness and indifference?

You violated Romans 11 and Leviticus 19 and that is between you an G-d, and I don't care if you write a news letter about me and send it to my inbox - do it! Let's see if you feel better at the end of the day!

You are not an example of Christ. Completely the opposite, you hate everyone even those who share His bloodline. Replacement theology is your agenda, not reaching out the world and helping others. You lack forgiveness and now you will reap the consequences of this.

I've heard of suicide bombing, but this is the first ever coming from a Christian Crusader.

On a bit of lighter news, guess who was just banned from Twitter:

This is going to be you Torba!

You don't to share this world with us, we don't have to share this world with you!

p.s. To any Christians reading this, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves for allowing people like this guy to get away with hating G-d's Chosen People... not the TV show - HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE. Israel! And for what, to avoid a fight? To wait for your Christ to make the fight stop? Jesus would be disgusted of this lukewarm attitude you have if you care of his opinion so much. Either you do something, or be uprooted and burned like wheat by their hatred - it's your choice.

[spokanefavs]

Calvinist Activist Warns that White Nationalism Is Invading Reformed Churches

The anti-woke alliance of Calvinist Theobros and Christian nationalists hits the skids — as author Owen Strachan feuds online with Andrew Torba of Gab.

[saywhat-politics]

“Incredible things are happening already lmao,” wrote Gab founder and Hitlerbot innovator Andrew Torba

At a post-inauguration rally Monday, Elon Musk thanked Donald Trump’s supporters with a gesture that resembled a Roman salute, first putting his palm to his chest and then extending a stiff right arm toward the crowd, at a slight elevation and with his palm down. It wasn’t a one-off. He later repeated the gesture.

[beardedmrbean]

German officials attempted to start a criminal investigation into a Gab social media user who allegedly called a left-wing female politician “fat,” but the platform refused to comply with the German authorities’ invasive demands to uncover the person’s identity, the platform told Fox News Digital.  

The Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt-BKA) contacted Gab about a user insulting the weight of politician Ricarda Lang, a prominent leader of an environmental party in Germany. It requested information that would identify who the individual was, under the suspicion they resided in Germany, so that they can continue their criminal investigation. 

Torba called Germany’s request “one of the more ridiculous foreign data requests that Gab received… [T]hey wanted us to dox a user for calling a female politician fat.” 

Gab’s official response was to inform the German government they should “get bent,” the CEO, Andrew Torba, told Fox News Digital.

“We stand firmly by our commitment to free speech principles and will not compromise the privacy or civil liberties of our users. We categorically reject any requests from governments, including the German government, that seek to stifle free speech or violate the privacy rights of our users for speech which is protected by US law. In this instance, we will not be providing any user data related to the alleged offense against a German politician. Accordingly: you can get bent,” Gab said. 

Germany has become the hate speech police, having some of the strictest laws in the world concerning social media posts. The agenda was accelerated after The Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) was signed into law in 2017. It requires social media companies to promptly remove illegal content, including hate speech, defamation, and incitement to violence. 

“In this particular case the Gab user “[redacted]” published two posts that sexualize the German politican ‘Ricarda Lang’ and denigrate her weight,” the BKA allegedly said in its formal request to Gab. 

German authorities requested the person’s cell phone, email, IP address, payment method, past and present usernames, full name, date of birth, postal address, and personal ID documents and so on.  

Germany alleged the post attacking the politician’s weight and posting a graphic meme was a violation of its laws on insults. 

Section 185 of the German Criminal Code covers derogatory opinions, defamatory remarks, or expressions that show disrespect or contempt. This can include verbal abuse or statements that degrade someone’s worth. 

“The penalty for insult is imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or a fine and, if the insult is committed publicly,” the law said.  __________________________

Germany continues to be Germany

[justbeingnamaste]

On Wednesday, Gab founder Andrew Torba reported that his staff had allegedly found evidence that Trump shooter Thomas Crooks may have had an account on the free speech social media platform.

Torba published nine posts that he believes were written on the social media platform by Thomas Matthew Crooks.

[mariacallous]

Neo-Nazis are celebrating Elon Musk making two Nazi-like salutes during a speech to tens of thousands of President Donald Trump supporters on Monday.

“Elections come and go, some elections are important, some are not, but this one really mattered,” Musk said during his address inside the Capital One Arena in Washington DC, hours after Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. “And I just want to say thank you for making it happen. Thank you.”

At this point, Musk put his right hand on his chest before extending it straight out with his palm facing down and his fingers touching, a gesture widely recognized as the “Roman salute.” Adopted by the fascist movement a century ago, it was most famously used by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany, and is to this day associated with the fascist right, especially in Italy.

After he first made the gesture, Musk then turned around to members of the crowd who were seated behind him and, with his back to the camera, repeated the gesture.

“My heart goes out to you,” Musk added.

Musk subsequently shared a clip of his speech on X but at the point where he makes the first salute, the clip posted by Musk cuts away to a shot of the audience before returning to show him making the second salute.

Musk, X, and the Trump administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but after this article was published Musk responded to the backlash in a post on X, writing: “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The “everyone is Hitler” attack is sooo tired.”

The response from the neo-Nazi community across the globe was instant and unanimous.

“Incredible things are happening already,” Andrew Torba, the founder of Gab, a social media platform popular with antisemites and white supremacists, wrote over a picture of Musk giving the salute.

“The entire neo-Nazi movement seems to be eating it up,” says Nick Martin, an investigative journalist who closely tracks extremist groups and runs the online publication The Informant. “He gave two unmistakable Nazi salutes and they got the message loud and clear.”

“WE ARE FUCKING BACK” the administrator of a Nazi meme channel on Telegram wrote under a clip of Musk giving the salute. Members of the group responded with the lightning bolt emoji, a well-known neo-Nazi reference to the SS.

“I don’t care if this was a mistake, I’m going to enjoy the tears over it,” Christopher Pohlhaus, the leader of the American neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe, wrote on his Telegram channel under a gif of the Musk salute.

Keith Woods, a prominent far-right influencer from Ireland who has repeatedly praised Musk, responded to the actions by writing on X: “OK maybe woke really is dead.”

Evan Kilgore, a right-wing political commentator, wrote on X: “Holy crap … did Elon Musk just Heil Hitler at the Trump Inauguration Rally in Washington DC… This is incredible.” Kilgore later wrote: “We are so back.”

Kilgore, who is a Holocaust denier, has worked as an ambassador for Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA. The conservative activist group hosted a pre-inauguration ball on Sunday evening that featured JD Vance, who was inaugurated as vice-president today, and the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr.

Musk has embraced far-right ideology and figures across the globe, including jailed Islamphobic activist Tommy Robinson in the UK, over the last two years. Most recently, he has promoted the German far-right political party Alternative for Germany. In an hour-long interview with the party’s leader Alice Weidel earlier this month, Musk agreed with the wild conspiracy theory that Hitler was a communist.

[gusty-wind]

Andrew Torba 

Import the third-world, become the third-world. On our current trajectory there’s a high chance your grandkids will never know the simple joy of a safe weekend shopping trip with their family.

[poooooooooao3]

adl and standing together are the different sides of the same coin. they are cowards and i don't hate them tbh. just pity them.

they are bending to the world. the world demands that they deny antisemitism, left, right and center. so they do. it's throwing us under the bus and very dangerous but unless i recall incorrectly, adl did similar shit under trump before. i can't remember who but someone said it's a humiliation ritual. and i agree. we have entered the age of humiliation for jews. the world intends to drive us apart and keep us divided. very scary.

I assume you're referring to this post?

If not, please correct me and I will delete this.

The non Jewish world has always attempted to humiliate us. That never stopped. Why else would they "permit" us to pursue vocations that they found distasteful?

We never left that age. The quick and steep rise in antisemitism proves it.

The problem is this softer stance on this behaviour, condoned by a world leader, a world leader that is supposed to be allied to Israel, is a departure from Greenblatt's previous statement from late 2023 on this same goof over similar antics.

Published: 09.05.2023 New York, NY, September 5, 2023 … ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt issued the following statement today regarding recent developments with X/Twitter:

“It is profoundly disturbing that Elon Musk spent the weekend engaging with a highly toxic, antisemitic campaign on his platform -- a campaign started by an unrepentant bigot that then was heavily promoted by individuals such as white supremacist Nick Fuentes, Christian nationalist Andrew Torba, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and others. Finally, we saw the campaign manifest in the real world when masked men marched in Florida on Saturday brazenly waving flags adorned with swastikas and chanting "Ban the ADL."

But to be clear, the real issue is neither ADL nor the threat of a frivolous lawsuit. This urgent matter is the safety of the Jewish people in the face of increasing, intensifying antisemitism. Musk is engaging with and elevating these antisemites at a time when ADL is tracking a surge of bomb threats and swatting attacks of synagogues and Jewish institutions, dramatic levels of antisemitic propaganda being littered throughout Jewish and non-Jewish residential communities, and extremists marching openly through the streets in Nazi gear. All of this is happening in a context of the highest number of antisemitic incidents that ADL has tracked in more than 40 years -- and just two weeks away from the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

And so, this behavior is not just alarming nor reckless. It is flat out dangerous and deeply irresponsible. We need responsible leaders to lead, to stop inflaming hatred and to step back from the brink before it's too late.”

So why does the first lady, Musk, get a pass this time?

Never kiss the ring on the hand intent to take your life. Ever.

We said 'never again', yes? How do we think we got there the first time?

By letting shit like this slide.

At some point we have to say 'no', and mean it.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to discuss this concern. xo

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Kyle Mantyla at RWW:

Right-wing pastor Andrew Isker recently delivered a guest sermon at church in Indiana where he declared that Vice President Kamala Harris is biblically unqualified to be a leader and that it's "insane" that she might actually become president.  Isker is a far-right Christian nationalist who interned under Douglas Wilson and who co-wrote "Christian Nationalism: A Biblical Guide For Taking Dominion And Discipling Nations" with Andrew Torba, the virulently antisemitic founder of the social media platform Gab.  Isker focused his recent remarks on a passage from Deuteronomy that declares that "no one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord" and "no one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord."  Isker insisted that this was an instruction on how to "construct a temporal order" by requiring leaders to have both a connection to the past via ancestry and to the future via offspring. 

Far-right Christian Nationalist pastor Andrew Isker preached a guest sermon at Syracuse Baptist Church in Syracuse, Indiana justifying how Deuteronomy 23:1-2 prohibits Kamala Harris from the Presidency based on sexism. This is such wicked nonsense.

[juegodesupervivenciascum]

Arrest warrants have now been issued for Chris Pavlovski, CEO of Rumble

🔴BREAKING: 🚨⚖️❌The attack on free speech just escalated. Arrest warrants have now been issued for Chris Pavlovski, CEO of Rumble, and Andrew Torba, CEO of GAB, on charges of Conspiracy to Defraud the US and more—just two weeks after Pavel Durov was arrested in France. This crackdown on independent platforms is becoming all too familiar. Is this just another step in the drive for mass censorship? Free speech is clearly under siege. Who's next? 🤔

[tomorrowusa]

It is profoundly disturbing that Elon Musk spent the weekend engaging with a highly toxic, antisemitic campaign on his platform -- a campaign started by an unrepentant bigot that then was heavily promoted by individuals such as white supremacist Nick Fuentes, Christian nationalist Andrew Torba, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and others.

[ ... ]

Musk is engaging with and elevating these antisemites at a time when ADL is tracking a surge of bomb threats and swatting attacks of synagogues and Jewish institutions, dramatic levels of antisemitic propaganda being littered throughout Jewish and non-Jewish residential communities, and extremists marching openly through the streets in Nazi gear.

[ ... ]

And so, this behavior is not just alarming nor reckless. It is flat out dangerous and deeply irresponsible. We need responsible leaders to lead, to stop inflaming hatred and to step back from the brink before it's too late.

— Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) – the leading organization fighting antisemitism in the United States. From a press release at the ADL site.

Too many people are normalizing Elon Musk and his far right extremism. He openly flirts with hatemongers and conspiracy nuts.

It's not okay to shrug and say "that's just Elon being Elon" while continuing to patronize his cesspool of hate. Do you really want to be publicly identified with a platform full of Nazis and other violent extremists?

[nyantria]

Christians Must Learn To Hate Evil Again

By: Andrew Torba

https://news.gab.com/2023/04/christians-must-learn-to-hate-again/

クリスチャンは悪を憎むことを再び学ばなければならない

クリスチャンである私たちは、私たちを取り巻く世界の混乱と混沌の中にあっても、信仰に堅く立つよう求められています。最近、ナッシュビルで幼い子ども3人を含む6人のクリスチャンが惨殺されたニュース、トランプ大統領の見せかけの起訴、ダグラス・マッキーの有罪判決など、落胆し、意気消沈するかもしれませんが、こうしたときこそ、私たちの希望と力がより高い力から来ることを忘れてはなりません。

今週は、クリスチャンとして、また幼い子供を持つ父親として、私にとって困難な1週間でした。いわゆる「クリスチャン・リーダー」からの反応をあらゆるところで探しましたが、よく言えば沈黙、悪く言えば、キリストの兄弟姉妹ではなく、「トランス・コミュニティ」を支持する人たちを発見しました。

クリスチャンは、悲劇に同情、共感、愛をもって対応するよう求められています。しかし、その悲劇が主流メディア、文化、私たち自身の政府、そしておそらく私たちの教会、友人、家族の一部によって祝われている場合はどうなるのでしょうか。

キリストにある兄弟姉妹の6人の命を奪うという、キリスト教コミュニティに対する恐ろしい不正行為を行ったコミュニティのメンバーがいた数日後に、全米の学校、組織、企業、そして政府の建物でトランスの旗が掲げられたとき、私たちはどう対応すればよいのでしょうか。

今週、私の親友であるアンドリュー・イスカー牧師が書いていたように、愛想がよくていい人というのは、もう通用しないのです。

��病なクリスチャンの「指導者」たちは、これらの問題に対して沈黙を守るかもしれません。まず、私たちの希望と力は、神から与えられるということを忘れてはなりません。私たちは祈りによって神に立ち返り、神の導きを求めながら、この困難な状況を乗り越えていかなければなりません。

聖書のピリピ人への手紙4章6～7節にあるように、「何事にも思い煩わず、どんな状況でも、感謝をもって、祈りと願いによって、自分の要求を神に差し出しなさい。そうすれば、あらゆる理解を超えた神の平和が、キリスト・イエスにあって、あなたがたの心と思いを守ってくれます。」

祈りに加えて、私たちはマタイ5:44のイエスの言葉、**「しかし、あなたがたに告ぐ、あなたの敵を愛し、あなたを迫害する者のために祈りなさい。」**を思い出さなければなりません。メディアや企業、学校、政府が無意味な悲劇を祝福しているように見えるときでも、私たちは憎しみや怒りではなく、愛と思いやりをもって対応しなければなりません。

また、私たちは、邪悪な人々によって謳歌されている不正に対処するための行動を起こさなければなりません。これは、主流のシナリオに反対する意見を述べたり、変化をもたらすために活動している組織を支援したり、あるいは平和的な抗議活動やデモに参加することを意味するかもしれません。その際、私たちの行動が怒りや暴力ではなく、愛と慈しみに根ざしたものであることが重要です。私たちは、大胆に福音を伝え、真実を語り、恐れを捨てなければなりません。

私たちは、自分たちが一人で闘っ���いるのではないことを忘れてはなりません。これは、敵が私たちに必死に信じさせたいことです。私たちには、被害者のために、そして神の言葉を代表して立ち上がる人がいないのだと。これほど真実から遠いことはありません。キリストの体のメンバーである私たちは、私たちを支え、励ましてくれる、より大きな信者の共同体の一員です。他の信者とつながっていることで、私たちは苦難や迫害のときにも力と希望を見出すことができるのです。地元の教会やコミュニティだけでなく、Gabや他のオンラインプラットフォームで世界中の信者とそうすることをお勧めします。私たちは今、かつてないほどお互いを必要としているのです。

[beardedmrbean]

For what I have read, even the Jewish community is a bit split on the gesture.

But leaving aside if it was or not. A lot of people, on both sides, left and right saw it as that.

“Incredible things are happening already,” Andrew Torba, the founder of Gab, a social media platform popular with antisemites and white supremacists, wrote over a picture of Musk giving the salute.

“I don’t care if this was a mistake, I’m going to enjoy the tears over it,” Christopher Pohlhaus, the leader of the American neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe, wrote on his Telegram channel under a gif of the Musk salute.

Evan Kilgore, a right-wing political commentator, wrote on X: “Holy crap … did Elon Musk just Heil Hitler at the Trump Inauguration Rally in Washington DC … This is incredible.” Kilgore later wrote: “We are so back.”

The problem comes that it has emboldened the group of people that will make the attacks you mentioned more common place.

Horrible people are going to interpret these things they way that fits their agenda, that goes for people that like what the nazis stood for and people that want to paint the administration as a attempt at reviving the third reich.

Our job as sane human beings capable of independent thought is to mock the living daylights out of both groups.

Because they're both terrible and they're both insane.

elon musk is not responsible for the way people interpret his actions if they are interpreting them wrong, and in your examples you see have someone saying they don't care if it is a mistake, which means even the terrible people don't know if it was what he meant or not.

So again, mock the people that are flipping out over this, on both sides of the aisle.

If the ADL changes it's position on this or the IHRA pops in with a opposing view I will revisit my position based on new information, for now I'm listening to the Jewish organization that exists to call out Antisemitism and following their lead here.

[jwood718]

A matter of perspective apparently.

The by-now infamous salute (a gesture that will live in infamy?) of Musk either giving his heart or giving a sieg heil

has of course elicited differing ideas online, according to Yahoo News:

"The infamous “Libs of TikTok” account reached [this] conclusion.

'CNN is suggesting that Elon did a Nazi salute during his speech at the Capital One Arena,' the page posted. 'He was literally motioning ‘my heart goes out to you.’ This is why no one trusts the fake media.'"

BUT

"Mistake or not, the gesture has White Nationalists abuzz. Rolling Stone reports five of the country’s most notorious far-right figures—Christopher Hood, Christopher Pohlhaus, Thomas Sewell, Keith Woods, and Andrew Torba—have gleefully reshared the gesture.

'I don’t care if this was a mistake,' Polhaus posted. 'I’m going to enjoy the tears over it.'"

Full story