Conservatives are calling out what they say is a media double standard after newly sworn-in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was seen extending his arm during his inauguration Thursday — a gesture they argue mirrors a motion Elon Musk made a year ago that ignited widespread headlines accusing the tech billionaire of delivering a «Nazi salute.» 

«Not a single one of these legacy media outlets reported on Mamdani’s identical hand gesture which they called @elonmusk a nazi for Do you see what’s happening?» popular conservative X account Libs of TikTok posted Friday, accompanied by screenshots of media outlets stretching from the Guardian to Vox reported on accusations that Musk delivered a «Nazi-style salute» to Trump supporters Jan. 20. 

Liberals and critics frequently attacked Trump while he was on the campaign trail by calling him a Hitler-esque fascist, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, who compared Trump to the German dictator during a town hall in the final stretch of the 2024 election cycle. Musk attended Trump’s inaugural parade in 2025, where he spoke to supporters and was accused of giving a Hitler-style salute to the crowds — a narrative that was promoted by Democrats such as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. 

Musk and Republicans lambasted and mocked the accusations when they cropped up, including the tech billionaire floating a potential defamation lawsuit against Walz for promoting the claim. 

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Fast-forward nearly a year, conservatives are questioning why Mamdani has not faced similar accusations after he was seen extending his arm in a gesture similar to Musk’s. 

«Zohran Mamdani did the same exact gesture today at his swearing in that the left called a ‘Nazi salute’ when @elonmusk did it,» former liberal and WalkAway — a movement encouraging people to leave the Democratic Party — founder Brandon Straka posted to X.   

«They lie,» Musk posted to X Friday in response to Libs of TikTok’s message showing a swath of headlines from earlier in 2025 reporting that the tech billionaire allegedly gave a Nazi salute. 

«HOLY CRAP! Zohran Mamdani just did the EXACT SAME gesture as Elon Musk When Elon does it, it’s a ‘Nazi salute.’ When communist Zohran does it, the media is silent. The media is the enemy of the people,» conservative commentator Eric Daugherty posted. 

«Did Mamdani do a nazi salute?!?! Literally shaking rn I’m sure CNN and MSNBC will be all over this,» Libs of TikTok posted in another message mocking Democrats over their January comments targeting Musk.

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«When Elon signals his heart goes out to the crowd he’s a ‘NAZI’. When Mamdani does it, its perfectly fine… The left tried to use that signal from Elon to gaslight people into people into thinking he is a Nazi because they saw it as politically useful.. They are not ideologically consistent and their hypocrisy knows no bounds. They do NOT care about any of that. They just care about political power and feeling virtuous,» another posted. 

«Zohran Mamdani can make this gesture and everyone loves him for it, but when Elon Musk does it? The leftist media wasted no time calling him a Nazi,» the Media Research Center posted to X. 

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena, in Washington, Jan.20, 2025.  (Angela Weiss/AFP/ Getty Images)

Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, took office Thursday, with ceremonies that included a public swearing-in outside City Hall and an earlier private oath at the decommissioned City Hall subway station. Mamdani was seen lifting his hand from his heart to the crowds of supporters at the end of his speech during the public ceremony. 

«I was elected as a Democratic socialist, and I will govern as a Democratic socialist,» he said.

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«Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously,» Mamdani said, acknowledging that his agenda may not always succeed but insisting it would be bold. «To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this: No longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers’ lives.»

Democrat Mayor Zohran Mamdani becomes the first Muslim mayor of New York City, with the inauguration ceremony at City Hall, Manhattan, New York City, Jan. 1, 2026.  (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office regarding conservatives’ comments over the salute considering previous coverage of Musk, but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Musk served as the Trump administration’s public leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Trump established at the start of his second administration to weed out fraud, government overspending and mismanagement from the federal government.

Musk was a common fixture of the administration — serving as a special government employee — until May, when Musk criticized Trump’s «big, beautiful bill» for raising the debt ceiling, fracturing the relationship. Musk and Trump have since been spotted at public events together, including chatting with one another. 

MEDIA OUTLETS ACCUSE ELON MUSK OF GIVING ‘FASCIST SALUTE’ AT TRUMP INAUGURATION RALLY

Musk slammed comparisons to Nazis toward the end of his DOGE tenure, pointing to it as another example of the long-running attacks against Trump and his supporters. 

«Well, I mean, look, it’s a relentless propaganda campaign, which obviously President Trump has experienced for a very long time, 20 years, maybe longer,» Musk said on Fox News’ «My View with Lara Trump» in May. «And politics is a blood sport, so they’re going to come up with whatever attacks they can to destroy the public perception of someone.»

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«Now, obviously, I’ve not harmed anyone in my life, so it’s an outrageous thing to claim that I’m a Nazi,» he added. 

As nationwide protests continued to spread across Iran on Friday, the regime’s hardline Parliament speaker warned the U.S. that American forces and bases in the region would be considered «legitimate targets» if Washington intervenes in the country’s ongoing political unrest.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf made the comments after President Donald Trump said earlier Friday that the U.S. would take action if Iran uses force against demonstrators. It comes as protests entered a sixth day and appear to be spreading, with Iranian opposition groups claiming at least eight deaths.

«The disrespectful President of America should also know that with this official admission, all American centers and forces across the entire region will be legitimate targets for us in response to any potential adventurism,» Qalibaf wrote in Persian on X.

«Iranians have always been united and determined to act in the face of an aggressor enemy,» he added.

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Qalibaf’s threat emerges as the United States maintains a substantial military presence in the region.

Roughly 40,000 active-duty U.S. troops and War Department civilians are deployed across the Middle East, according to Military Times, citing Pentagon officials. Forces are stationed in countries including Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq and Syria, according to Reuters.

Trump said earlier Friday that the United States is «locked and loaded and ready to go» if Iranian authorities violently suppress demonstrators.

«If Iran shoots and ‘violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,’» Trump wrote on Truth Social.

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The Iranian opposition group National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) claimed Friday that protests have spread to at least 44 cities across 19 provinces, with at least eight people killed in clashes with security forces over the past two days. The group said the youngest victim was 15 years old. The claims could not be independently verified.

According to the NCRI, demonstrations and street fighting intensified overnight, with protesters blocking roads, throwing stones and setting fire to police vehicles in multiple cities, including Marvdasht, Semirom, Darreh-Shahr, Ramhormoz and Azna. 

The group also claimed demonstrators burned a statue of slain Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Lali, in Iran’s Khuzestan province.

Funerals of those killed in the uprising turned into angry demonstrations against the clerical dictatorship, NCRI reported.

Protesters hold signs during a demonstration in Iran amid ongoing unrest, according to images released by the Iranian opposition group National Council of Resistance of Iran. (NCRI )

In Zahedan, in Iran’s southeast near the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan, demonstrators rallied after Friday prayers, chanting slogans including «Death to the dictator» and «Death to Khamenei.»

The unrest marks Iran’s most significant protests since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody sparked nationwide demonstrations. Iranian officials say the current unrest has not reached the same scale or intensity.

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Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf speaks during a public event in Iran in 2024 (Hossein Beris / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP)

In recent demonstrations, some of the most severe violence has been reported in western Iran, where videos circulating online appear to show fires burning in streets and the sound of gunfire during nighttime protests.

In a message to the protesters, the President-elect of the NCRI, Maryam Rajavi, said that the protesters have «struck fear into a weakened enemy.»

«Scenes of your courage, valor, and steadfast resistance captivate the conscience of the world,» Rajavi said. «Therefore, from here, I say to the clerics, the Revolutionary Guards, the Basij forces, and their intelligence agents: whatever measures you take, you will not be able to silence a people who have resolved to overthrow the clerical regime.»

«You may kill, you may wound, you may arrest and imprison, but you will not escape the relentless wrath of this nation. And let this stand as an explicit warning to all those who order and carry out these crimes and killings: the courts of a free Iran are awaiting you.»

Meanwhile, exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of Iran’s former shah, praised Trump’s «decisive leadership» and tough stance against Iran’s ruling clerics.

Pahlavi said Iranians are risking their lives to end 46 years of rule by the Islamic Republic.

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«[The people] have entrusted me with a message along with a great responsibility: to strive for the revival of the relationship that Iran once had with America; a relationship that brought peace and prosperity to the Middle East,» Pahlavi wrote on X.

«I have a clear plan for a stable transition in Iran and enjoy the support of my people to achieve it. With your leadership in the free world, we can leave behind a lasting legacy of enduring peace.»

Iranian security forces are seen near a crowd during demonstrations amid ongoing unrest, according to images released by the Iranian opposition group National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). (NCRI )

Fox News’ Bradford Betz, Greg Norman, Morgan Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

James Luckey-Lange, de Staten Island, Nueva York, fue dado por desaparecido en Venezuela por su familia a principios de diciembre. Foto Eva Aridjis Fuentes.

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