Fact Check: False Rumor Claims Nearly 25% of Americans Believe Hitler Was a Good Person

Aleksandra Wrona
·5 min read
X user @lifepeptides, Canva
X user @lifepeptides, Canva

Claim:

The results of a Nov. 2024 YouGov poll showed that nearly a quarter of Americans think Hitler was a good person.

Rating:

Rating: False
Rating: False

Context:

The YouGov poll conducted from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1, 2024, among U.S. citizens aged 18 and over revealed that only a small portion of respondents held any positive or mixed views about Hitler. Just 1% viewed him as "a completely good person," 4% saw him as "a good person who did some bad things" and 7% considered him "equally good and bad." Additionally, 12% of respondents were "not sure" about their view of Hitler.

 

In early November 2024, a rumor spread on social media that nearly a quarter of Americans believe Hitler was a good person.  

(X user @IImpartialTruth)

Some posts making the claim included a screenshot of an article by English-language Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post titled "Nearly a quarter of Americans believe 'Hitler was a good person' - poll."

One X user, whose post had amassed nearly 150,000 views as of this writing, captioned the screenshot (archived): "Are we back?"

(X user @lifepeptides)

"It's happening," another X post stated, reaching 1.7 million views, 39,000 likes and 4,300 shares as of this writing. The screenshot also appeared on Reddit.

However, the actual poll results from YouGov, which surveyed 1,077 Americans, did not show that nearly a quarter of respondents viewed Hitler as a good person. Therefore, we have rated this claim as false.

Source of the Screenshot

The screenshot attached to social media posts originated from an article published by The Jerusalem Post on Nov. 9, 2024. The article's title did indeed read: "Nearly a quarter of Americans believe 'Hitler was a good person' - poll."

The subhead read: "Most Americans think Hitler was a bad person at 65%, with majorities across the party lines, with Democrats at 75%, Republicans at 60%, and Independents at 59%." The article continued:

Nearly a quarter (23%) of Americans think Adolf Hitler was a good person, with Democrats at 18%, Independents at 20%, and Republicans at 33%, according to a recent poll published by YouGov on November 4.

However, the article's title was misleading and did not represent the actual results. The poll revealed that only a small portion of respondents held any positive or mixed views about Hitler. Just 1% viewed him as "a completely good person," 4% saw him as "a good person who did some bad things," and 7% considered him "equally good and bad." Additionally, 12% of respondents were "not sure" about their view of Hitler.

We have reached out to The Jerusalem Post for a comment and will update this report if we receive a response.

About the Poll 

The poll was conducted by polling and market research company YouGov from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1, 2024, among U.S. citizens aged 18 and over.

According to the results of the poll, participants were chosen from YouGov's opt-in panel to be representative of the U.S. adult population, with responses weighted by gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, party affiliation, and voter registration. Political identification reflected an estimated distribution of 33% Democratic and 31% Republican. Conducted via web-based interviews, the survey included 1,077 respondents, with a margin of error of ±3.9%. 

In early November 2024, its results were reported by news outlets such as The Washington Post and Newsweek. "For nearly half of Trump voters, overt appreciation of Hitler is acceptable," The Washington Post titled their article, while Newsweek had the headline: "One in Five Americans Do Not Think Hitler Was All Bad: Poll." 

According to the official YouGov document, the actual breakdown of responses provided a much clearer picture:

  • 1% saw Hitler as "a completely good person;"

  • 4% saw him as "a good person who did some bad things;"

  • 7% saw him as "equally good and bad person;"

  • 12% were "not sure."

This leaves 65% who viewed Hitler as "a completely bad person," with the remaining respondents saying he was a bad person who did some good things.

You can see the complete survey results here.

(YouGov)

We have reached out to YouGov for a comment and will update this report if we receive a response.

For further reading, we have investigated other Hitler-related rumors, including:

Sources:

About YouGov | YouGov. https://yougov.co.uk/about. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.

Emery, David. "Did Donald Trump Say 'Mein Kampf' Had a 'Profound Effect' on Him?" Snopes, 17 Apr. 2019, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trump-hitler-mein-kampf/.

"Nearly a Quarter of Americans Believe 'Hitler Was a Good Person' - Poll." The Jerusalem Post | JPost.Com, 9 Nov. 2024, https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-828218.

PerryCook, Taija. "Did Trump Once Say 'I Need the Kind of Generals That Hitler Had'?" Snopes, 25 Oct. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trump-hitler-generals/.

Reporter, Theo Burman Live News. "One in Five Americans Do Not Think Hitler Was All Bad: Poll." Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024, https://www.newsweek.com/hitler-had-some-good-ideas-american-poll-1980293.

Two-Thirds of Americans Say Hitler Was Completely Bad; 20% Think Trump Would Say the Same | YouGov. https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/50864-two-thirds-of-americans-say-hitler-was-completely-bad. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.

Wrona, Aleksandra. "JD Vance Once Called Trump 'America's Hitler'?" Snopes, 18 July 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/vance-trump-hitler-quote/.

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