Elon Musk’s Nazi Salute And The Grim Reality Of Attention Politics

Updated January 23, 2025 at 3:20 p.m.*

-Analysis-

BERLIN — Let’s not beat around the bush. When someone on a political stage, during a political speech, in front of a crowd including no shortage of far-right followers extends his right arm at an angle, repeatedly, they’re giving the Hitler salute.

There’s no need for “allegedly” or “reminiscent of” or “controversial.”

The gesture speaks for itself; it’s documented on video. Those who want to see something else in it, who don’t want to see a Hitler salute, do so at their own risk. For instance, those who now claim to have rediscovered the ancient “Roman salute” reveal little more than their eagerness to sugarcoat the obvious.

So here we are: Elon Musk raises his arm, sets the ultimate bait, and the world leaps to take it. On this momentous day, the inauguration of Donald Trump’s second presidency, the spectacle of attention politics is laid bare as never before.

Lose-lose proposition

At its very core, this is about attention — society’s most contested currency, at a time where every image, video, and soundbite vies to be noticed every second of the day. Trump and Musk excel at this game, especially in turning even bad publicity to their advantage. Case in point.

Everyone else faces an impossible choice.

What follows is predictable. Neo-Nazis and far-right extremists will see the extended right arm as a gesture of solidarity and affirmation. More moderate supporters might see it as an exaggerated expression of enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, everyone else faces an impossible choice: either ignore the breach of taboo — inadvertently contributing to its normalization — or call it out for what it is, fueling the outrage that opponents just thrive on. It’s a lose-lose situation, made worse by a growing segment of the population that dismisses outrage over a Nazi salute as mere virtue signaling.

The rules of the attention game

This has been the dynamic of the attention economy since at least 2016. The rules are clear, and its winners — those who revel in provocation and disruption — are as evident as the helpless losers.

Even journalism is trapped in this game. Media is the natural battleground for attention politics, amplifying controversies while trying to tackle them. This article itself may be read as a sign of that struggle.

Appeals to resist becoming desensitized to political atrocities are futile.

The best available tactic is to distinguish the minor provocations from the seismic ones — like, say, a Nazi salute — and to shed light on the rules of the game while playing it.

Immense influence

Political gestures and statements, like other stimuli, lose some of their impact over time. The first shock is always the strongest; by the third, the effect wanes. Humans adapt — that’s a fundamental trait. However noble, any appeal to resist becoming desensitized to political atrocities is ultimately futile.

For figures like Trump and Musk, the payoff of such attention-grabbing strategies isn’t merely the normalization of their positions, and style. It shows their power to dictate what the public grows accustomed to.

They wield immense influence over the shifting standards of what is considered sayable and acceptable.

The Overton window

In the 1990s, political scientist Joseph Overton introduced the concept of the “Overton window,” delineating the range of ideas considered politically acceptable. Outside this window lie radical and unthinkable positions. Overton argued that real change requires shifting this window.

Over recent years, this shift has been palpable. By January 2025 the farthest-right edge of said Overton window has expanded enough to include, unambiguously, a Nazi salute.

This is the grim culmination of a years-long game, where attention is the prize, and those who provoke and polarize have mastered the rules.

*Originally published January 21, 2025, this article was updated January 23, 2025 with an Extra! context box about German law regarding the use of the “Hitler salute”.