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.

Even CNN stopped short of explicitly calling it a “Nazi” gesture — likely because it lost a defamation suit just days ago. The anchors heavily implied the message, though.

“I just want to look at that salute that he gave again,” one anchor said.

“It was quick,” another anchor replied. “I think our viewers are smart, and they can take a look at that, but it certainly was — it’s not something that you’d typically see at American political rallies.”

PBS is partially funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, to which Congress allocated $535 million in the 2025 budget. But since Republicans now control the House — which controls federal funding — and Trump (whom PBS often disparages) has the power to execute the law, perhaps the outlet would do better to report the news instead of publishing wild accusations.

Logan Washburn is a staff writer covering election integrity. He is a spring 2025 fellow of The College Fix. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo’s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.