Breitbart 'Friends of Hamas' hoaxer: 'Of course Hitler was a left-winger'

Ben Shapiro, the Breitbart News editor-at-large who reported a false story about Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's ties to the non-existent group "Friends of Hamas," says that there was no doubt "Hitler was a left-winger."

During a Thursday radio interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity's radio show, Shapiro accused the American "left-wing press" of supporting Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, Italian fascist Benito Mussolini and the Soviet Union.

"Of course Hitler was a left-winger!" Shapiro exclaimed. "The name of his party was National Socialism, he redistributed wealth, he shut down businesses. This argument that Hitler was a right-winger is absurd. It's absolutely ridiculous and historically ignorant."

He added: "It's a slander put forward by the left in order to try and shut down all debate on the fact that socialism and the rise of the left in countries in a major way usually leads to dictatorial natures for more of than, for example, a limited government."

In 2010 "documentary" on Fox News, former host Glenn Beck had also argued that Hitler was more liberal than conservative.

But the Examiner's Ryan Witt called that an "absurd claim."

"Looking at all of Hitler's policies, not just the select few Beck picks, Hitler was clearly more right-wing conservative that left-wing liberal," he wrote.

Witt pointed out that Hitler allowed the industrialist to make tremendous profits, greatly increased defense spending and used religion to advance his agenda.

"Beck only distorts the historical record by arguing Hitler was somehow more progressive or liberal than conservative," he concluded. "If anything an analysis of all of Hitler policies resemble more of an extreme far-right ideology than anything else."

Listen to this audio from The Sean Hannity Show, broadcast March 7, 2013.

(h/t: Media Matters)

[Correction: This post originally said Beck's documentary claimed Hilter was more conservative than liberal.]