Credit: Alamy
People Are Deleting Their X Accounts After Elon Musk’s Controversial Gesture at Inauguration
A wave of X (formerly Twitter) users are reportedly deleting their accounts on the platform following Elon Musk‘s controversial gesture during Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States on January 20 and the X CEO gave a speech during the celebrations.
Musk, who serves as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) in Trump’s administration, acquired X in April 2022.
The billionaire has since alienated segments of its user base due to controversial changes, such as removing legacy blue verification ticks and replacing them with a paid subscription model costing around $100 (£81) per year.
Despite such controversies, many X users have remained loyal – however, some are now abandoning the platform entirely following Musk’s apparent gesture at the inauguration.
After watching Musk’s speech, one user declared: “I’m leaving Twitter as long as it’s under the ownership of Elon Musk. I refuse to participate in the operation and success of this app… You can find me on BlueSky still if you want.”
Alongside an attachment of Musk’s speech, another said: “And with that, I’m leaving Twitter. I will be locking this and all other accounts by midnight tonight. I will still be streaming, but I will just be in other places, bye for now!”
“That’s the final straw for me. I’m leaving Twitter,” a third simply wrote.
Somebody else commented: “Elon Musk is a joke. Leaving Twitter forever, bye.”
Even companies are exiting the platform, with U.K.-based brewery Northern Monk announcing their decision to step away.
In a statement, the brand said: “As a company, we are concerned by some of the discourse on this platform (X). Unity and inclusivity are central to our mission and values, so we will no longer be using X following this post.”
Still, other X users are defending Musk and suggesting the apparent gesture was part of a calculated effort to boost engagement on X.
As one user speculated: “Musk may have done it just to pump X traffic.”
Musk caused outrage on social media after making a one-armed gesture, which involved placing his right hand over his heart and thrusting the same arm into the air and ahead of him.
Many have likened Musk’s arm movement to a Nazi salute, which was widely used in Italy before being adopted by Adolf Hitler in Germany.
The X CEO himself has responded to the backlash on X, stating: “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”
BREAKING: Elon Musk does Hitler salute at Trump celebration. pic.twitter.com/tY7diGC1DH
— Democratic Wins Media (@DemocraticWins) January 20, 2025
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