When billionaire Elon Musk gestured to the crowd at President Donald Trump’s post-inaugural rally, legacy media showed it had learned nothing in the past decade — rushing to claim Musk gave a “fascist salute.”
“Billionaire Elon Musk gave what appeared to be a fascist salute Monday while making a speech at the post-inauguration celebration for President Donald Trump at the Capital One Arena,” the Public Broadcasting Service posted on Musk’s platform, X.
PBS claimed Musk placed his hand on his chest, “raising it in a salute that appeared similar to the ‘Sieg Heil’ used by Nazis at their victory rallies.” The context, however, shows Musk was thanking the crowd for helping Trump’s victory.
“I just want to say thank you for making it happen, thank you,” Musk said, placing his hand over his heart, then pointing it at the crowd. “My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured.”
Some smaller leftist outlets echoed the “fascist” or “Nazi” framing adopted by PBS, with Politico saying that “critics are comparing” the gesture “to a fascist salute.” Nazism literally refers not to “fascism,” but to the “National Socialist” party of Germany in the 1930s and 40s. Nazis were socialists, not fascists…
The Federalist 
