Walmart has rushed to pull down online listings of clothing items appearing to have Nazi symbols and slogans on them, which were briefly being sold on its website.
Images of the products, t-shirts and hoodies, showed them emblazoned with a raised, white arm with an extended flat palm being held over a black, clenched fist. The slogan read “paper beats rock.”
The imagery and phrase combination, traditionally referring to the game “rock, paper, scissors,” has been co-opted by white supremacists online. The “paper,” interpreted as the Nazi salute, is positioned over the “rock,” the fist which symbolizes the Black Power movement, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Walmart’s online sales policy specifically prohibits “symbols of intolerance or terms that are historically associated with intolerance,” including slave tags, Confederate flags, or swastikas.
“Items, media, or propaganda associated with Nazism, white supremacy, or any other hate groups which promote prejudice or bigotry,” the online page states.
Blair Cromwell, Walmart’s director of global communications for its U.S. marketplace, said that the listing had been done through a third-party and had been removed “immediately” as soon as it had been flagged.
“We have zero tolerance for any prohibited or offensive products appearing on our Marketplace,” she told Snopes in a statement. “The items in question were listed by a third-party seller and have been removed from our site and the seller terminated for violating our prohibited products policy.”
“When issues like this are identified, we act immediately to remove them and strengthen our systems to prevent a recurrence. The trust of our customers and the integrity of our platform remain paramount.”
The Independent has also contacted Walmart for further comment on the listings, which had been removed as of Friday.
Concern over a resurgence in far-right rhetoric and symbolism has rumbled on since the return of Trump to the White House, with opponents likening the optics of some of the president’s campaign rallies to those events undertaken by the Nazis.
Shortly after Trump’s victory in January, Tesla billionaire Elon Musk came under fire after performing a questionable gesture to crowds of MAGA supporters.
Musk thumped his right hand over his heart, then extended his right arm out at an upward angle, palm down and fingers together, several times. The gesture was likened to a “Hitler Salute” by some, though Musk strongly denied the accusations.
