The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Studies and Prevention issued a “red flag alert” after billionaire Elon Musk was seen raising his arm in a way that appeared to mirror a Nazi salute.
Conversation swirled online over Mr Musk's gesture at the parade following Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington on Monday. Mr Musk finished his speech to Trump supporters by clutching his chest with his right hand and then extending his right arm outward, at an upwards angle, palm down and fingers together.
He made the same gesture to people behind him. But it came as he said “my heart goes out to you” and thanked Trump supporters.
Politicians such as Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned Mr Musk after people drew comparisons of his gesture to a Nazi or fascist salute.
The Lemkin Institute called it “frightening” and issued a red flag alert for genocide, which they define as a development towards extremism or mass atrocities.
“We have learnt that we must absolutely take leaders, and people in positions of great power, like Elon Musk, at their word,” the organisation said. “Musk’s Hitler salute cannot and must not be swept under the rug.”
Claire Aubin, a historian who specialises in Nazism within the US, said Mr Musk's gesture was a “sieg Heil”. Another historian of fascism, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, said “that was a Nazi salute – and a very belligerent one, too”.
Mr Musk called it a “tired” attack, while far-right commentators supported the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive, who has appeared to support anti-Semitic views in the past.
Mr Trump's nominee for UN ambassador, Elise Stefanik, testified to Congress that “Elon Musk did not do those salutes” and that Americans “see through it”.
Influencer and chief executive of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk, asserted that critics were “thirsty for controversy and racism – that doesn’t exist”.
But Mr Musk's onstage act seemed to split Jewish groups. The Anti-Defamation League, an organisation founded to call out anti-Semitic activity, said in a post on X that “many are on edge” in a “delicate moment”.
The group has criticised Mr Musk for condoning or spreading anti-Semitic speech in the past, but appeared to try to defend his actions this time around.
“It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge,” it said.
Mr Musk replied to the ADL's post, saying “thanks guys” with a laughing emoji.
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs said, however, that he “knows precisely what he was doing”.
“We know precisely where this extremist behaviour leads, normalising and emboldening avowed neo-Nazis and white supremacists who take this as a stamp of approval for their targeting of Jews, immigrants, people of colour, and so many others,” it said.
The group cited Mr Musk's past actions, such as endorsing the far-right AfD in Germany and recently holding a live-stream with the party's leader Alice Weidel.
The chief executive of the JCPA, Amy Spitalnick, wrote on X: “We are somehow debating whether a Nazi salute at a Trump rally was actually a Nazi salute, just eight hours into the second Trump presidency. This is exactly how fascism works.”
