Elon Musk was accused of making a Nazi salute (Image: Getty)
The BBC has responded to claims they “downplayed” concerns that made a Nazi salute during his appearance at
The Tesla owner, 53, was accused of performing “the Hitler salute” when he took to the podium at the Capitol One arena. The tech mogul was seen making a gesture that strikingly resembled the Nazi salute, raising his hand flat into the air.
The has now been forced to issue a statement after they received complaints from viewers, who claimed the broadcaster “hadn’t sufficiently reported” the concerns.
In response, they wrote: “Some of our audience have been in touch to suggest that we ignored or otherwise downplayed concerns that made a Nazi salute during his appearance at a Trump rally on the day of the inauguration.
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He made the gesture at Donald Trump’s inauguration (Image: Getty)
“However having reviewed our coverage of the gesture across our platforms, we can see no grounds for suggesting this was the case. For instance this featured in the lead report on the News at Ten and was discussed on Newsnight.
“On the News website a post on our live page, which included video footage of the gesture, first told readers that Musk’s “one-armed gesture” was garnering significant attention online, with several users on X likening the gesture to a Nazi salute.”
The statement then summarised all the coverage of Musk’s gesture at the event, adding: “Within the hour we also published a standalone video article ‘s gesture at Trump rally draws scrutiny.
“There was further coverage of the story on TV, Radio and Online the next morning, including our article Musk responds to backlash over gesture at Trump rally which reported at the outset that Musk had caused ‘outrage’ with the gesture and explained that a historian who specializes in Nazism within the United States, said Musk’s gesture was a ‘sieg heil’, or Nazi salute.”
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BBC viewers claimed the broadcaster “downplayed” concerns (Image: Getty)
The “Hitler Salute”, or “Sieg Heil”, is a German phrase meaning “Hail Victory” in English, notoriously associated with the Nazi Party during Hitler’s rule from 1933 to 1945.
This phrase was typically accompanied by the “Nazi salute,” characterized by a straight-armed extension with the palm down.
Reactions on social media were divided, with one writing: ” casually doing a Hitler salute in front of millions. Alright.”
Another furious viewer posted: “Musk doing an in your face hitler salute at Capital One Arena is disgusting. The crowd cheering for it is disgraceful. is a cretin.”
Others came to the X owner’s defence, saying: “You guys are despicable. This gesture from has nothing whatsoever to do with Hitler.”