Fascist (insult)
"[3] Later, in 1944, the anti-fascist and socialist writer George Orwell commented on Tribune that fascism had been rendered almost meaningless by its common use as an insult against various people, and argued that in England the word fascist had become a synonym for bully.
Meanwhile, accusations that the leaders of the Soviet Union during the Stalin era acted as red fascists were commonly stated by both left-wing and right-wing critics.
The official Soviet version of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was described as "Fascist, Hitlerite, reactionary and counter-revolutionary hooligans financed by the imperialist West [which] took advantage of the unrest to stage a counter-revolution.
They frequently described the Ukrainian government after Euromaidan as fascist or Nazi,[24][25] at the same time using antisemitic canards, such as accusing them of "Jewish influence", and stating that they were spreading "gay propaganda", a trope of anti-LGBT activism.
[41] Ukrainian president Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, rebuked Putin's allegations, stating that his grandfather had served in the Soviet army fighting against the Nazis.
"[34] During the 1990s, in the midst of the Yugoslav wars, Serbian media often disseminated inflammatory statements in order to stigmatize and dehumanize adversaries, with Croats being denigrated as "Ustasha" (Croatian fascists).
[48] In modern Serbia, Dragan J. Vučićević, editor-in-chief of the tabloid and propaganda flagship Informer, holds the belief that the "vast majority of Croatian nation are Ustaše" and thus ''fascists''.
The Croatian authorities searched them and returned them to Serbia with the explanation that they cannot bring official uniforms into Croatia and that they do not have documents that justify the purpose of their stay in the country.
In 1944, the English writer, democratic socialist, and anti-fascist George Orwell wrote about the term's overuse as an insult, arguing:It will be seen that, as used, the word 'Fascism' is almost entirely meaningless.
[59]Historian Stanley G. Payne argues that after World War II, fascism assumed a quasi-religious position within Western culture as a form of absolute moral evil.
In her 1970 book Beyond Mere Obedience, radical activist and theologian Dorothee Sölle coined the term Christofascist to describe fundamentalist Christians.
[69] A growing number of scholars have posited that the political style of Trump resembles that of fascist leaders, beginning with his election campaign in 2016,[70][71] continuing over the course of his presidency as he appeared to court far-right extremists,[72][73][74][75] including his failed efforts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election results after losing to Joe Biden,[76] and culminating in the 2021 United States Capitol attack.
[77] Leading up to the 2024 presidential election, several political figures have described Trump as a fascist, including John F. Kelly, Mark Milley, Joe Biden, Tim Walz, and Kamala Harris.
[5] According to the History News Network, this belief that fascism is left-wing "has become widely accepted conventional wisdom among American conservatives, and has played a significant role in the national discourse.
Writing for The Washington Post, historian Ronald J. Granieri stated that this "has become a silver bullet for voices on the right like Dinesh D'Souza and Candace Owens: Not only is the reviled left, embodied in 2020 by figures like Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren, a dangerous descendant of the Nazis, but anyone who opposes it can't possibly have ties to the Nazis' odious ideas.
"[5] Other examples include statements by Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has compared mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.
[91][92] The origin of the insult can possibly be traced back to the massive use in Chile of social networks and their use in political discussions, but was popularized in the aftermath of the 2017 Chilean general election, where right-wing Sebastián Piñera won the presidency with a strong working class voter base.
"[91] In 2019, left-wing deputy and future President Gabriel Boric publicly criticized the phrase facho pobre as belonging to an "elitist left", and warned that its use may lead to political isolation.
