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  • 2017-02-22 (xsd:date)
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  • Did Stephen Miller Throw a White Power Sign? (en)
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  • On 21 February 2017, web site DailyKos.com shared a photograph of White House advisor Stephen Miller, along with a claim that the image clearly shows him using a hand gesture that signifies white nationalism: Twitter users also shared this image of Miller alongside pictures of gang symbols taken by the Anti-Defamation League: The photograph was taken on 12 February 2017 by Reuters photographer Joshua Roberts, shortly before Miller appeared on Face the Nation: Senior White House Advisor Stephen Miller waits to go on the air in the White House Briefing Room in Washington, U.S., February 12, 2017. It is impossible to tell, in the absence of additional images or video to use for comparison purposes whether Miller was deliberately using a hand gesture of any sort or whether this picture simply captured him during a fleeting moment while he was adjusting his tie and jacket. We have reached out to Roberts to see if any such footage is available. However, the position of Miller's hands do not match the white power hand symbol image provided by the ADL: While Miller's right hand may resemble a W, it is a stretch to say that his left hand resembles a P. Miller's gesture more closely resembled the Aryan Circle's hand symbol, although this would be problematic: the Aryan Circle is a white supremacist prison gang, and as far as we know Miller has never been in prison (generally a prerequisite for prison gang membership). Furthermore, the symbol (per the ADL) consists of holding up the thumb and the middle, ring, and little fingers of one hand, signifying the numbers 1 and 3, yet Miller's thumb is not raised: Anti-Defamation League senior researcher Mark Pitcavage told us that the claim is not credible: Evidence that Miller was actually using a controversial gesture is slight at best, and most likely the image simply captured him in the act of adjusting his outfit just before appearing on camera. In September 2018, the same claim was made of Zina Bash during the confirmation hearings for Trump Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh: (en)
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