Walmart has removed clothing items from its online marketplace after they were found to feature imagery resembling Nazi symbols. The products, including T-shirts and hoodies, displayed a raised white arm with an extended palm over a black clenched fist, accompanied by the slogan “paper beats rock.”
The Anti-Defamation League notes that the combination has been co-opted by white supremacists, with the “paper” interpreted as a Nazi salute and the “rock” representing the Black Power movement’s fist. Walmart’s policy explicitly prohibits symbols of intolerance, including those associated with Nazism and white supremacy.
Blair Cromwell, Walmart’s director of global communications for its U.S. marketplace, stated that the items were listed by a third-party seller and were removed immediately upon being flagged. The seller has been terminated for violating the company’s prohibited products policy.
This incident follows broader concerns about far-right symbolism, including a gesture by Elon Musk at a post-election rally that some likened to a Nazi salute, though Musk denied the accusation.
