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.
Here’s everything we know about the powerful billionaire’s name and avatar change on X — and the meaning behind them:
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.
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.
However, “kek” has also been used by white nationalists online, especially when combined with the Pepe the Frog meme, according to an investigation by journalist David Neiwert published by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Pepe images coupled with the phrase “kek” have been similarly co-opted, Neiwert reports.
“Kek, in the alt-right’s telling, is the ‘deity’ of the semi-ironic ‘religion’ the white nationalist movement has created for itself online – partly for amusement, as a way to troll liberals and self-righteous conservatives both, and to make a kind of political point,” the journalist wrote for the SPLC.
Far-right communities have since developed the idea of “Kekistan,” a fictional country for which adherents have created a mock national flag.
The flag, which has often been seen at far-right demonstrations in the US, “perfectly mimics a German Nazi war flag,” according to Neiwert.
Meanwhile, Musk recently backed Alternative for Germany, a far-right political party that has espoused hateful rhetoric against immigrants. The billionaire also previously promoted the far-right “great replacement” conspiracy theory, which baselessly warns of “white extinction” and suggests that white Americans are deliberately being replaced by immigrants.
The Independent has contacted Musk for comment.
