The insulting version of the gesture (with the palm inward U+1F594 Reversed victory hand)[10] is often compared to the offensive gesture known as "the finger". The "two-fingered salute" (also "the forks" in Australia[11]) is commonly performed by flicking the V upwards from wrist or elbow. The V sign, when the palm is facing toward the person giving the sign, has long been an insulting gesture in England,[12] and later in the rest of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, India, Pakistan and New Zealand.[2] It is frequently used to signify defiance (especially to authority), contempt, or derision.[13]
"In the US, two fingers up is the peace sign no matter which way the hand faces "
Vietnam War, victory, and peace
U.S. President Richard Nixon used the gesture to signal victory in the Vietnam War, an act which became one of his best-known trademarks. He also used it on his departure from public office following his resignation in 1974.
Protesters against the Vietnam War (and subsequent anti-war protests) and counterculture activists adopted the gesture as a sign of peace. Because the hippies of the day often flashed this sign while saying "Peace", it became popularly known as "the peace sign".