Musk, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales in bitter spat over 'Nazi salute' row: 'Think Elon is unhappy because ...'

Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales and Elon Musk had a spat on X over the controversial one-armed gesture by the tech billionaire at Donald Trump's inauguration, which was later compared to the Nazi salute from the Adolf Hitler era.

Earlier, Musk took a dig at "legacy media propaganda" after a Wikipedia entry stated that the gesture was compared to a Nazi salute, along with citation.

The Wikipedia entry read: "In his speech during the second Trump inauguration, Musk twice extended his right arm towards the crowd in an upward angle. The gesture was compared to a Nazi salute or fascist salute. [596] [597] Musk denied any meaning behind the gesture."

Retweeting a screenshot of this entry, Musk said: "Since legacy media propaganda is considered a “valid” source by Wikipedia, it naturally simply becomes an extension of legacy media propaganda!"

Is there anything you consider inaccurate in that description? It's true you did the gesture (twice) and that people did compare it to a Nazi salute (many people) and it's true that you denied it had any meaning.That isn't MSM propaganda. That's fact. Every element of it.
Jimmy Wales (@jimmy_wales) January 21, 2025

A day later, Wales responded to Musk's post saying that everything mentioned in the entry is a "fact" and not main stream media propaganda.

"Is there anything you consider inaccurate in that description? It's true you did the gesture (twice) and that people did compare it to a Nazi salute (many people) and it's true that you denied it had any meaning. That isn't MSM propaganda. That's fact. Every element of it," Wales said.

When Musk doubled down on his attack on Wikipedia, saying that it should be defunded, Wales said that the tech billionaire seems unhappy since the platform is not for sale.

"I think Elon is unhappy that Wikipedia is not for sale. I hope his campaign to defund us results in lots of donations from people who care about the truth. If Elon wanted to help, he'd be encouraging kind and thoughtful intellectual people he agrees with to engage," he said.

The SpaceX founder has been critical of Wikipedia and has often questioned its financial practices.

He has asked why the Wikimedia Foundation - which oversees the site - needed so much money. “Have you ever wondered why the Wikimedia Foundation wants so much money? It certainly isn’t needed to operate Wikipedia. You can literally fit a copy of the entire text on your phone! So, what’s the money for?” he asked.

He even jokingly offered to pay $1 billion to turn Wikipedia into 'Dickipedia'

Controversy over gesture at Trump event

Musk had faced backlash after he made two consecutive hand gestures during an event to celebrate Trump’s inauguration, which drew comparisons to the Nazi salute.

If you think Elon Musk gave a Nazi salute you are out of touch with reality. He was putting his hand on his heart and said My Heart goes out to you while speaking to Americans who helped Trump win. pic.twitter.com/Cqp0CsgDBC Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) January 22, 2025

He had replied to a post on X earlier which shared a collage of former US President Barack Obama, former Vice President Kamala Harris and other prominent figures doing the same one-armed gesture.

“Can someone direct me to the articles where the media expressed outrage over this? Can’t find any,” he said.

Musk went on to bash legacy media, saying it is "pure propaganda", adding that X - the microblogging platform he owns - is the new news media.

The gesture had left X users divided. While many lashed out at Musk for imitating the "Nazi salute", others defended him and said he did it in a "moment of enthusiasm".