---
date: 2020-10-29
id: f4965fea-590f-41d2-ad18-890062a9e6d9
title: Useful idiot
---

In political jargon, a useful idiot is a derogatory term for a person
perceived as propagandizing for a cause without fully comprehending the
cause's goals, and who is cynically used by the cause's leaders. The
term was originally used during the Cold War to describe non-communists
regarded as susceptible to communist propaganda and manipulation. The
term has often been attributed to Vladimir Lenin, but this attribution
is unsubstantiated.