MONTREAL -- A joking tweet from Quebec Health Minister Christan Dubé to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 got a less-than-enthusiastic welcome from the Twitterverse Friday, with some claiming he flashed a symbol often used by white supremacists.
In the Tweet, Dubé writes, "If you looked, I owe you a [syringe symbol]."
He holds his right hand by his side, making an 'O' using his thumb and forefinger.
For some, the hand gesture is reminiscent of schoolyard games and teenagehood, when if, indeed you did look, the perpetrator had the right to punch you in the arm.
For others, though, the sign, also known as the 'OK' gesture, is a bold symbol of white power.
It apparently started in 2017, when users on message-board site 4chan were instructed to flood social media websites with news that the hand gesture was racist.
The campaign was allegedly dubbed 'Operation O-KKK.'
It was believed that holding up three fingers resembled a 'W,' while the circle made using the thumb and forefinger formed a 'P,' together standing for "white power."
In 2019, the symbol was added to the Anti-Defamation League's online "Hate on Display" database, alongside burning crosses, Ku Klux Klan robes, the swastika and many other symbols of racism and anti-Semitism.
Dubé's tweet has already garnered hundreds of likes, retweets and responses.
It also inspired Quebec Solidaire MNA Manon Masse and Liberal leader Dominique Anglade to get in on the trend, filming their own versions.
