If you thought ‘Chief Twit’ and gazillionaire Elon Musk wouldn’t touch on Nazi sympathizing territory, think again. The new Twitter acquirer pulled a tasteless joke earlier today, picking the worst possible image for a meme: a German Wehrmacht Soldier, with a carrier of pigeons on his back.
In the tweet, allegedly sharing a meme about “How times have changed,” Musk perhaps not-so-coincidentally shared an image of a Nazi Wehrmacht infantryman with a caption saying “3 unread messages.” Naturally, the alleged joke ended up not doing well among Twitter masses who found the joke distasteful, disapproving of the usage of the historically-dense photograph.
Perhaps unbeknownst to the billionaire, the image used for the meme holds quite a historical significance. In the black and white photograph, a German soldier appears to be carrying a cage of carrier pigeons, often used to relay messages on the western front during the German invasion of France. The picture taken circa May 1940, was taken during the Battle of France in World War II, following Germany’s victory, forcing the Latin-European country to surrender in June 1940.
This joke, unsurprisingly, revolted Twitter users who took to social media to question Musk’s comedy attempts. The popular account YourAnonNews immediately shared their own interpretation of the Chief Twit’s gag, saying he is the Nazi in the picture “carrying Twitter on his back,” albeit being a “burden for him because people are figuring out he’s not the smart tech-savvy bazillionaire he’s trying to portray.”
Others were more straightforward with their simple responses, plainly criticizing Musk’s meme of choice, or opting to make their own jokes surrounding the situation. “It’s too bad the only image he could use of carrier pigeons just happens to be of nazi ones,” one user said, “I feel so bad for him.”
Leave it to the newest Twitter CEO to make the most controversial possible tweets, consistently one-upping himself for the “Worst Twitter Jokester” award.
