This guy has security clearances and appears to be the president's right hand man. Cue up the "This is fine" meme.
Musk changes X handle to Kekius Maximus. What does it mean?
The world’s richest man’s new handle and avatar appear to refer to a cryptocurrency – but they both include references previously co-opted by the far right
www.yahoo.com
Right-wing billionaire
Elon Musk has changed his name to “Kekius Maximus” on X,
the social media platform he owns, signaling support for a type of
cryptocurrency.
The world’s richest man changed his name on X on Tuesday and updated his profile photo to an edited picture of “Pepe the Frog,” a meme that has been co-opted by hate groups.
Musk has been at President-elect
Donald Trump’s side since he won the election,
appearing to be one of his closest advisors.
He has also been named as co-chair of the new Department of Government Efficiency. Alongside co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy, Musk has vowed to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government’s budget in the role.
Musk has been at President-elect
Donald Trump’s side since he won the election,
appearing to be one of his closest advisors.
He has also been named as co-chair of the new Department of Government Efficiency. Alongside co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy, Musk has vowed to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government’s budget in the role.
Here’s everything we know about the powerful billionaire’s name and avatar change on X — and the meaning behind them:
What is Kekius Maximus?
Kekius Maximus — also known as $KEKIUS — is the name of a memecoin, which is a type of cryptocurrency with a name and mascot inspired by memes shared online. Musk has shown support for other memecoins in the past, such as dogecoin, a currency associated with a world-famous meme of a Shibu Inu dog.
The name appears to be a blend of the phrase “kek” and the character Maximus Decimus Meridius from the 2000 film
Gladiator,
Newsweek reports.
The cryptocurrency’s value has soared by at least 700 percent since Musk changed his name on X.
As he changed his name and photo, Musk
shared a photo of the meme Pepe the Frog dressed in ancient Roman armor touching a rock with an “80” engraved into it. The caption reads: “Kekius Maximus will soon reach level 80 in hardcore PoE.”
“PoE” likely refers to
Path of Exile 2, a video game Musk has previously said he plays.
Musk also shared a post with the phrase “Kekius Maximus” on December 13.
Hate group associations with Pepe the Frog and “Kek”
Musk’s new profile photo depicts the online meme Pepe the Frog — also known as the “sad frog meme” — wearing ancient Roman attire while holding a video game controller.
The Pepe the Frog character, created by artist Matt Furie, does not have any inherently racist or antisemitic connotations. However, it has been co-opted by far-right hate groups and used to spread hateful messages on online platforms including 4chan, 8chan, and Reddit, according to the
Anti-Defamation League
These hateful memes soared during the 2016 president election and have been on the rise ever since, the ADL reports.
“Though Pepe memes have many defenders, the use of racist and bigoted versions of Pepe memes seems to be increasing, not decreasing,” the ADL writes on its website.
Meanwhile, “kek” originated as a synonym for “LOL” among players of the game World of Warcraft. There is also a god in Egyptian mythology named Kek.
www.nytimes.com
