Son Of New Jersey Gov Makes “OK” Hand Sign

The Washington Examiner reports:

Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s son stirred controversy after he appeared to form a hand sign during his father’s official swearing-in ceremony that’s been linked to white supremacists and nationalists. Josh Murphy, 20, formed an upside-down “OK” signal with his right hand as the new governor took his oath of office Tuesday in Trenton, N.J.

The gesture has been innocuously used as part of the Circle Game, popularized by TV show “Malcolm in the Middle,” where participants jokingly punch anyone they can trick into looking at the signal. But the sign has also become common among white nationalists and supremacists, such as Richard Spencer, to symbolize the letters “W” and “P” for “white power.”

According to the Anti-Defamation League, the recent meaning of the hand sign traces back to a post on the extremist 4chan message board which called for trolling liberals into believing the symbol stood for “white power” since Trump often uses the gesture to punctuate his sentences.

Since then, however, the hand sign has been eagerly adopted by literal white nationalists and prominent alt-right figures, effectively undoing its original trolling intent.