ATW:Tell it like it is

The Antifascist Tech Wiki tells it like it is. This means, for example, we will describe a person who verifiably proclaims fascist politics as a fascist, regardless of the possibility of offense taken by the subject or any potential reader. However, editors are not encouraged to over-utilize direct language such as this, as shocking but accurate terminology might weaken the arguments presented by an article if used carelessly. This policy explains how and when to use labels with a negative connotation (fascist, racist, sexist, homophobic, Nazi, and so on).

Using controversial labels to refer to the article's subject

When applying a negative label to the subject of an article, consider if the article's subject is "out". If, for example, an article's subject proudly describes themselves as a Nazi, surrounds themselves with Nazi paraphernalia, associates with other "out" Nazis, then one can simply call them a Nazi:

John Doe is a prominent Neo-Nazi and founder of the hate group We Hate Minorities.

However, if the subject of the article is not "out", and publicly asserts that they are not a Nazi (or some other applicable label), and for example relies on dog-whistles to maintain plausible deniability, then it is not recommended to use the label to refer to them directly. Instead, consider the following example:

John Doe is the founder and CEO of Acme, Inc. and a prominent supporter of various fascist individuals and organizations including Jane Doe, We Hate Minorities, and The Foundation For Assholes. He is a prominent supporter of the racist White Replacement Theory.

Note that negative labels are used to refer to John Doe's associates, rather than John Doe himself. A reasonable reader could easily conclude that labels like "fascist" and "racist" are applicable to John Doe, but defenders of John Doe cannot trivially dismiss the article by arguing "John Doe says he's not a Nazi, he disavows Nazism publicly".

Using controversial labels to refer to secondary subjects

Note in the two examples above that the labels "fascist" and "racist" are applied directly to subjects who are not the primary subject of the article, e.g. Jane Doe, We Hate Minorities, and The Foundation For Assholes. The idea of White Replacement is also, accurately, labeled as racist. The article on Jane Doe may or may not directly refer to Jane as a fascist (depending on whether or not Jane is "out"), but it should clearly justify the use of the label nonetheless.

Be sure to use the label which is most topical in these cases. Many labels can apply to one bigot - they may be a racist, a white nationalist, a fascist, and a homophobe all at the same time. In fact, it's likely they are! Use whichever label is most applicable to the article's subject.