Fascism & escape from reality are synonymous. These applies to leaders & followers. In recent days, Trump insisted on his great lies, "They rigged and stole our 2020 Presidential Election, which we won by a landslide" & "Radical Left will destroy our Country if we let them."

When you study Trump's recent statements you can confirm how close we were to fascism in the USA.
Not only theorists like Arendt or Adorno noted this issue of fascist simplification as a source of authority via denial of reality...but fascists were quite explicit about this.

Adorno wrote, "By talking with individuals of fascist leanings, one can learn the psychological implications of this ‘key’ idea. Their more-or-less cryptic hints frequently reveal a kind of sinister pride; they speak as if they were in the know and had solved a riddle

otherwise unsolved by mankind (no matter how often their solution has been already expressed). They raise literally or figuratively their forefinger, sometimes with a smile of superior indulgence; they know the answer for everything and present to their partners in discussion

the absolute security of those who have cut off the contacts by which any modification of their formula may occur. Probably it is this delusion-like security which casts its spell over those who feel insecure.”

Adorno also linked the fascist notion of truth as being deeply rooted in revelation. In other world relying on neutered religious notions defined the acceptance of fascism among followers

As Adorno said,"Here lies one of the roots of the stubborn, conscious, and manipulative irrationalism of the Nazis, as it was summed up by Hitler’s saying: “One can die only for an idea which one does not understand.")"