[geofft]

Orwell fought against the fascists in the Spanish Civil War, and found his side being called fascist by the Stalinists. I suspect he was more hoping to return the word to meaning something (he quite passionately cared about fighting fascism) than encouraging its misuse.

[stcredzero]

Much of that time shaped George Orwell's later writings. All of the weird, anti-truth tendencies of The State were references to things done by Franco's Spain, the UK, and the Stalinists. The erasure and rewriting of the past. The use of blatant propaganda. Getting their own ranks to deny the simple truth before them. To George Orwell, the Fascists, the Stalinists, and the corrupt and Machiavellian parts of the British government were all part and parcel of the same evil and corruption.