Labor Dept. accused of echoing Nazi slogan in social media post

A controversial social media post from the Labor Department poured fuel on already smoldering accusations that the Trump administration is amplifying rhetoric and imagery associated with far-right ideologies.

Video in the articleThe photo, shared on Saturday, features a quick slideshow of artwork depicting glorified scenes from American history, with a statue of George Washington in the foreground.

The caption above the video reads: “One Homeland. One People. One Heritage. Remember who you are, an American.”

Social media users immediately noticed the similarities (in terms of words, form and sentiment) between the Ministry of Labor’s post and the slogan used by the Nazi Party.

“The US Government issues a version of ‘Ein volk, ein reich, ein führer'” said Terry Virts.A former NASA astronaut and current Democratic congressional candidate in an X post. “I don’t see how this ends well.”

The slogan “Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer” means “One People, One Country, One Leader”. This was “one of the basic slogans” used by Hitler and the Nazi Party,” according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Of course, the two messages are not a word-for-word match. But while experts caution against jumping to conclusions, many see numerous other examples of the Trump administration — including the Labor Department — projecting white supremacist language, ideas or aesthetics online.

“When you look at this post in the context of other posts, it’s not a coincidence,” said Bill Braniff, executive director of American University’s Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab.

Even on its face, the post raises red flags, Braniff said in an interview. For example, the claim that Americans have a “single heritage” clashes with the country’s history of accepting people from around the world and introduces the idea of ​​”in-group” and “out-group,” he said.

Jon Lewis, a research assistant at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, agrees.

“You don’t want to try to read something in the tea leaves that isn’t there,” he told CNBC. But “at a certain point, how many times do you have to ask until it’s no longer a coincidence?”

“At a certain point you can’t even really call it a dog whistle, it’s just a whistle,” Lewis added in an email. “How many times will it become official? [U.S. government] Are accounts posting openly white supremacist content without any repercussions?”

The Department of Labor, led by Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment. A spokesperson for the department previously said: “The social media campaign was created to celebrate American workers and the American Dream.”

This comment was in response to: The Guardian’s report After union leaders condemned the Ministry of Labor for the post.

“It is no surprise that a fascist regime would post fascist propaganda on a fascist social media network like

Labor’s post is not the first time the Trump administration has been accused of spreading far-right or white nationalist propaganda via social media. But in recent weeks the government appears to have stepped up some of the same controversial messages.

Wednesday, ahead of diplomatic talks regarding the President The White House likely shared some common ground in opposing Donald Trump’s increasingly aggressive efforts to seize Greenland. Cartoon created by artificial intelligence It shows two dog sleds at a crossroads, one road leading to the United States, the other leading to Russia and China.

“Which way, Greenlandic man?” Read the text on the image posted on the White House’s official X account.

Critics have compared this statement to “Which Way is the Western Man?”, the title of a 1978 book defending Hitler and advocating a white nationalist and anti-Semitic worldview. He accused him of repeating his statement. The book was written by William Gayley Simpson, who is said to be a member of the neo-Nazi group National Alliance.

This phrase has gained popularity on the far right in recent years. used memes It is the unfavorable comparison of an image that purports to represent modern society with an image that represents tradition.

The White House’s post wasn’t the first time a version of the phrase appeared on government social media accounts.

Five months ago, the Department of Homeland Security asked, “Which way, American man?” He published an ICE recruitment image titled:

That’s when DHS Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called. questions from journalists “disgraceful” about this article.

In response to questions about posts from the White House and Labor Department accounts, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told CNBC: “It seems the mainstream media has become a meme unto itself: deranged leftists who claim that everything they don’t like is Nazi propaganda. This line of attack is boring and tiring. Get a grip.”

Ministry of Labor on January 8 sent “Under a photo saluting Trump”trust the plan” – is a recurring phrase among followers of the far-right conspiracy known as QAnon.

Last Friday, DHS’s official accounts posted an ICE recruiting image that said, “We’ll have our home again.”

The phrase echoes the title of the song “God, We’ll Have Our Home Again,” whose lyrics “were attributed to a fraternal US neo-Nazi group,” according to a Toronto Holocaust Museum report. Pedia of Hate.

McLaughlin, asked on CNN He accused critics of “manufacturing false outrage” about DHS’s use of the phrase.

“There’s a lot of poetry, there’s a lot of songs, there’s a lot of books with the same name. And the fact that people want to pick and choose things about white nationalism… it’s not surprising that we’re seeing such massive, widespread attacks on our law enforcement,” he said.

The DHS post, which also featured a stealth bomber and a cowboy riding a horse at the base of a snowy mountain, came two days after ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Nicole Good during an argument in Minneapolis.

Southern Poverty Law Center He said the administration’s push toward allegedly white nationalist content on the government’s social media channels may have begun last June, when DHS shared a cartoon of Uncle Sam urging Americans to “report all foreign invaders to ICE.”

Some of the most viewed posts generated the most engagement online. For example, the Department of Labor’s post last weekend garnered nearly 23 million views on X alone, arguably making it the account’s most viewed post.

But they fit into a broader messaging strategy that often favors images and slogans that evoke the classics. wartime propaganda posters and idealized depictions of America and U.S. history.

The Ministry of Labor has recently started to share historical tables with occasional titles: clearly christian messages. It also recently launched a launch. social media campaign It almost exclusively features AI-like images of white men.

In November, the family of the famous painter of the 20th century Norman Rockwell blames DHS They are accused of misusing their ancestors’ work “for the purpose of persecuting immigrant communities and people of color.”

Some extremist experts say the messages are becoming public.

One way to know, Braniff said, is that “neo-Nazis themselves have noticed” and are talking about the administration’s rhetoric.

Other experts on extremism and scholars of fascism have noticed this, too. union leaders He added that there were people calling the Ministry of Labor.

“This has to do with both the frequency with which the content appears and the background,” Braniff said. “It seems pretty clear at this point.”