The Enemy of the People: Attacks on the Press as a Fascist Tradition

When Donald Trump called journalists “the enemy of the people,” he didn’t just insult the media — he resurrected one of fascism’s oldest and most dangerous weapons.

The Enemy of the People: Attacks on the Press as a Fascist Tradition

When Donald Trump called journalists “the enemy of the people,” he didn’t just insult the media — he resurrected one of fascism’s oldest and most dangerous weapons.

Authoritarian movements have always known that to control a nation, you must first control its narrative. And when you can’t control it, you discredit it.

The First Target: Truth Itself

Every authoritarian movement begins with a war on truth.

Facts are inconvenient when you’re trying to rewrite history or justify power grabs. So fascist regimes from Mussolini’s Italy to Hitler’s Germany treated journalists not as watchdogs, but as threats.

Mussolini jailed editors who criticized his regime and flooded Italy with propaganda that painted him as the savior of the nation. Hitler went even further: his regime burned…