Fallout veterans worried new fans from TikTok actually think fascist Enclave are the good guys

Prime Video's Fallout series brought many new fans to the franchise, most of whom lack deep knowledge about the history and lore of the factions depicted in the show.

While series veterans work hard to educate anyone willing to listen about the various atrocities committed by different groups, not everyone pays attention to these lessons.

A recent thread on the Fallout subreddit raised questions about why so many TikTok users express support and admiration for the Enclave – a faction typically portrayed as antagonistic throughout the Fallout series. Posts like these now appear across social media:

[The Enclave] do have some good points to be fair.

Enclave aren't the bad guys though.

Defending the Enclave and debunking some things about them.

While TikTok isn't exactly known for nuanced takes and intellectually rigorous arguments, commenters in the thread worry that people are either knowingly or unknowingly expressing admiration for a fascist, genocidal organization.

As the original poster notes:

I keep seeing enclave posts with people unironicly supporting them and their view points. Some are even trying going out of their way to morally defend them.

I genuinely don't get where this is coming from the show, and the all the new presumably young fans, is it a literacy issue, or has this always been a thing with the more edgy side of the Fandom?

Some defenders are undoubtedly trolls enjoying the controversy. However, if history teaches us anything, it's that people remain susceptible to propaganda.

For context – the Enclave attempted to commit genocide against the remaining United States population using biochemical weapons during Fallout 2. The FEV Curling-13 bioweapon was designed to eradicate everyone who wasn't an Enclave member, but the protagonist of Fallout 2 prevented its release. Under artificial president John Henry Eden, the organization attempted this plan again in Fallout 3 by hijacking Project Purity to release an upgraded version of Curling-13 into the Capital Wasteland's water supply.

Despite claiming to be the successor of the pre-war United States government, the Enclave operates as a typical fascist organization. At the war's onset, the Enclave murdered every non-member at its facilities, including democratically elected members of the pre-war Congress. The faction solely focuses on securing its rise to power and, to achieve this, scapegoats an "other" ("mutants") to rally support for its militaristic, genocidal policies.