The correct answer to this open question is the following.
Yes, demagogues have done it in the past and will do it again. That is why it is so important that people stay informed and do no let perceptions or fear to dominate their beliefs.
Joseph McCarthy was the Wisconsin Republican Senator that started the Red Scare persecution during the Cold Years, accusing many people of being Communists inside the United States government. The "little problem" was he accused with no proof at all. And affected the reputation of many people at that time.
Something similar happened after September 11, when people were afraid of terrorists and they suspect everything and anybody. If they though or perceived that people were from the Middle East, that was enough to report them; with no reason at all.
Indeed is happening in some areas of the present administration, where a politician wants to derived the attention of big problems facing American politics with lies and accusations that have no support at all.
