A verified X account keeps attempting to advertise Lego-style figurines of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler to users in Germany.
The account, run by a company known as “Cool Brickz,” garnered widespread attention on Wednesday after a U.S.-based user claimed he was served a promoted ad for a minifigure based on Hitler.
“Musk’s Twitter now has ads for… * squints * …LEGO Hitlers???” @Karmir_Kovkas wrote.
Cool Brickz, according to its website, is based in Alberta, Canada, and offers a wide array of Lego-style toys.
Popular items include “The Chancellor (Führer Edition),” “German Officer Feldgendarmerie,” “Third Reich Policeman,” and the “Blitzkrieg Commander.”
A list of Cool Brickz’s bestsellers shows that the eight most popular items are all related to Nazi Germany.
Analysis of advertising data by the Daily Dot indicates that Cool Brickz has repeatedly tried to promote its posts to users in Germany since September.
X’s ad transparency site, which is required in the EU, reveals at least four campaigns involving two posts across Europe and the U.S. While the campaigns were eventually flagged for review and halted, data indicates at least two ad buys ran for over five days. In Poland, data says, one accrued over 100,000 impressions.
All four buys were targeted in Germany as well, with Cool Brickz targeting the Hitler figurine at German users between the ages of 18-34.
The ad, according to the data, received 3,374 impressions before eventually being flagged.
Viewing the post itself on Thursday shows it has currently has over 117,000 views. It’s unclear how many of those views come specifically from the ad spend.
Complaints from German users, including one who questioned its legality, are also seen under the post.
“This [expletive] is shown as advertising in Germany. Is that even legal?” the user asks, according to an English translation of the response.
Under German law, it is illegal to display or sell good containing Nazi symbols. And although the data indicates that the promotion was at some point denied, German users are nevertheless coming across the post.
A LEGO Group spokesperson stressed to the Daily Dot that the products offered by Cool Brickz were in no way associated with their company.
“These minifigure figurines are not official LEGO® products and are in no way associated with the LEGO Group,” the spokesperson said.
In reviews on Cool Brickz website, however, customers can’t help but notice the similarities.
“I was impressed to see the pieces in person; you’d think these were legitimate L*go pieces,” one customer wrote. “There’s a lot to admire about these, but a notable standout for me is that the gold buttons and medals are a shinier, metallic and reflective material which really looks great and adds flare.”
Other figurines offered by Cool Brickz include ones based on former al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, an “over-tanned” Donald Trump, and “Hillary Clinton (Email Scandal Edition).”
X did not respond to a request for comment.
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