Searches for ‘Hitler’ and ‘fascism’ spike over presidential election There was a spike in interest in Adolf Hitler around the US presidential election, according to Google Trends, which tracks […]

There was a spike in interest in Adolf Hitler around the US presidential election, according to Google Trends, which tracks the popularity of searches.

Interest in Hitler normally spikes in April each year around the German dictator’s birthday, but a second spike was set off in October this year.

There have been comparisons made been between President-Elect Donald Trump and Hitler in both mainstream media and social media, which could have led users to search for more information about the Nazi leader.

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Interest in Hitler during its annual peak in April was higher than at any point since 2005, when the biopic Downfall was released in English.

Merriam Webster, the American dictionary makers, meanwhile said the word “fascism” had been looked up frequently for more than a year. It is still at the number one spot in the dictionary site’s “trending” sidebar, and has become the fourth most searched-for word of all time.

Fascism also experienced a spike around Election Day on Google Trends.

The words “misogyny”, “acrimonious” and “bellwether” have drawn added interest on Merriam Webster after a fraught election campaign.

Trending words

Mr Trump was accused of misogyny – “hatred of women” – due to leaked audio in which he was heard to describe grabbing women by the genitals.

The acrimonious – “angry and bitter” – election rivalry between Mr Trump and Hillary Clinton appears to have softened somewhat in recent days, with Mr Trump suggesting in an interview with CBS TV that he may not push for the Democratic candidate’s prosecution.

A bellwether, meanwhile, is “an indicator of trends”. It is used mostly around election time to describe a state whose voting preferences might indicate how the overall election will turn out. Nevada and Florida are both considered bellwethers traditionally – although Nevada voted for Ms Clinton this time, while Florida opted for the eventual winner, Mr Trump.