With recent events around the world, the middle east, Kanye calling himself a Nazi, Trump, Musk and his was it was it not a Nazi salute, antisemitism, genocide, etc, etc, I have been thinking about the state of the world and what's been happening in the USA in particular (I'm not from the USA). I was wondering how to describe what is happening there, and I was a little rusty on the terminology to be honest. So I was thinking, is it fascism? What was that exactly again? I needed a refresher so I figured I'd ask a quick summary from ChatGPT and holy moly:

Can you summarize in a bullet list when something van be concidered fascism

answer by chatGPT

• Authoritarianism – A strong, centralized government led by a dictator or ruling elite.
• Nationalism – Extreme devotion to the nation, often placing it above all else.
• Militarism – Glorification of war and military power as a means of achieving national goals.
• Suppression of Dissent – Censorship, persecution of political opponents, and control over the press.
• Anti-Democratic – Rejection of democratic institutions in favor of a one-party state or leader rule.
• Corporatism – The economy is controlled through a partnership between the state and select businesses.
• Scapegoating – Blaming certain groups (ethnic, religious, or political) for national problems.
• Anti-Liberalism & Anti-Communism – Opposition to individual freedoms, socialism, and leftist ideologies.
• Cult of Personality – Leaders are portrayed as infallible, heroic, and central to the nation’s success.
• Control of Culture & Education – Indoctrination through propaganda, schools, and media to align with state ideology.

Not all fascist movements look exactly the same, but these traits are common across historical and modern examples.

Are we witnessing the birth of a fascist superpower?

[Edit] Apologies if this is the wrong place for this.

[Edit 2] As was rightly pointed out, AI shouldn't be used and especially not taken as an authoritative source for something so important. I simply wanted to share because I was surprised (aghast) with the striking resemblance of current events. It's certainly given me a lot of food for thought (and remedial study to do)

Are there any animal products which are not the result of exploitation or cruelty (hypothetically)? For instance, wool comes to my mind as a product that could be obtained in a completely animal friendly manner. Just curious what you think.