The term "useful idiot" refers to Lenin - basically it is folks who might not be...

DiogenesKynikos · 2024-06-30T10:23:20 1719743000

The term "useful idiot" was invented by conservatives in the West during the Cold War, as a slur against social democrats.

Lenin never used it. It didn't even exist during his lifetime.

dash2 · 2024-06-30T15:18:47 1719760727

It was a slur against collaborators with communism, not against social democrats: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2019/08/22/useful-idiot/

DiogenesKynikos · 2024-07-01T03:48:22 1719805702

The slur was originally directed against social democrats by conservatives who accused them of helping communism.

Later, the term became a much more general slur used by conservatives against anyone who wasn't sufficiently "tough" against the USSR.