No, That White House Intern's ‘OK’ Hand Gesture Isn’t A White Power Symbol

A former White House intern was accused of flashing a “white power” sign after making an “ok” hand gesture in a group photo Thursday. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), however, said the sign does not qualify as a hate symbol.

The "OK" gesture, which can be easily made by bringing together the thumb-and-forefinger to make a circle, gained a negative connotation in the media for being a racist symbol. That connotation, however, was considered to be a hoax created in February 2017 by an anonymous user on 4chan, an imageboard website that allows people to post anonymously.

"An anonymous 4channer announced 'Operation O-KKK,' telling other members that 'we must flood Twitter and other social media websites…claiming that the OK hand sign is a symbol of white supremacy,'" ADL wrote on its website. "The user even provided a helpful graphic showing how the letters WP [for 'white power'] could be traced within an 'OK' gesture."

"The originator and others also suggested useful hashtags to help spread the hoax, such as #PowerHandPrivilege and #NotOkay," ADL added.

Trump often uses the gesture when he speaks, which could also offer an explanation for the rise in the United States as alt-right personality's like Milo Yiannopoulos — an avid Trump supporter — are frequently pictured flashing the "OK" symbol.

Jack Breuer, who served as a White House intern during the fall, denied making a white power sign in the group photos. While most of the young man's fellow interns appeared to be giving a thumbs up in the pictures, the former intern said he decided to emulate the "OK" hand gesture commonly used by Trump.

Breuer faced scrutiny for using the sign in a report from the Daily Mail, which showed his hand gesture alongside others that did the same. The pictures made rounds on Twitter soon after.

Breuer, who is Jewish, initially addressed his reasoning for emulating Trump with The Daily Caller. He then shared the same statement on Twitter late Thursday night, however.

"In some of our intern pictures, I emulated the OK sign the President sometimes makes," Breuer wrote in a tweet. "That was foolish. I should have listened more closely to the Commander-in-Chief and given the thumbs up."

"I'm proud of my Jewish heritage and strongly reject the hateful views associated with racist white power organizations. I would never make common cause with them," Breuer added.

Twitter didn't appear to buy Breuer's explanation, however. Commenters wrote "nice try" or accused the former intern of "lying."

"You've been listening to him enough to learn how to lie," one user tweeted. "We know who you are by what you did."

"You knew what you were doing, stop lying," another person wrote on Twitter.

One commenter tweeted a question, asking: "Did you learn to lie working for Trump or was that something you brought to the job with you?"