Editing Useful idiot (section)

{{short description|Derogatory term in political jargon}}
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A '''useful idiot''' or '''useful fool''' is a [[pejorative]] description of a person, suggesting that the person thinks they are fighting for a cause without fully comprehending the consequences of their actions, and who does not realize they are being manipulated by the cause's leaders or by other political players.<ref name=oed>{{cite encyclopedia | title=useful idiot| encyclopedia= Oxford English Dictionary| year= 2017| publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref>{{citation | page=394| chapter=useful fool| title=Oxford Dictionary of Euphemisms| publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]| first=R. W.| last=Holder| year=2008| isbn=978-0199235179| quote=useful fool—a dupe of the Communists. Lenin's phrase for the shallow thinkers in the West whom the Communists manipulated. Also as ''useful idiot''.}}</ref> The term was often used during the [[Cold War]] in the [[Western Bloc|Western bloc]] to describe non-[[communists]] regarded as susceptible to [[communist propaganda]] and [[psychological manipulation]].<ref name=oed/> 

This statement has traditionally been attributed to [[Vladimir Lenin]], but this attribution is not supported by any evidence. Similar terms exist in other languages, and the first mention in the English language predates Lenin's birth.