Herman claims that the basic facts dispute the notion that McCarthyism was caused by bigoted viewpoints within the United States. He argues that fears of the ‘Red Menace’ increased as the power of international communism gained prominence, and as the public became increasingly aware of Soviet spy operations in the United States. According to Herman, the American public believed that the Soviets posed the biggest threat ever faced by Western civilization, even greater than Nazis Germany that had recently been defeated. After World War II, the geopolitical landscape was radically changed by new alliances that seemed to threaten the security of freedom Americas had fought for. The emergence of McCarthyism stemmed from legitimate fear of the Soviet