McCarthyism takes its name from Senator Joseph McCarthy, who led a campaign against supposed communists living in the United States. McCarthy dominated the so-called “Red Scare” of the 1940s and 1950s, a period when many Americans were afraid that communists …
A “big lie” is an extreme distortion of the truth, used for the purpose of spreading propaganda. It is often somewhat outrageous.
In theory, people will more easily believe a big lie than a smaller one, because most people assume …
The “lunatic fringe” is the wing of a political or social group that holds more extreme views than the rest of that group. The lunatic fringe tends to hold stronger opinions, as well as more fanatical views.
Merriam Webster notes …