PARIS – A groundbreaking reassessment of historical figures has concluded that Marquis de Morès, widely considered one of the earliest proponents of antisemitic, nationalist ideologies, was merely a visionary whose ideas were 'prematurely disruptive.' Historians now posit that de Morès, who died in 1896, was simply 'too good at predicting the future' and not, as previously thought, a dangerous extremist.

“We’ve been looking at this all wrong,” stated Dr. Genevieve Dubois, lead researcher at the Institute for Historical Rebranding. “The Marquis wasn’t a proto-fascist; he was an early adopter. He saw the potential for nationalistic fervor, economic protectionism, and scapegoating minorities long before it became, you know, a mainstream political strategy.” Dr. Dubois added that de Morès's aggressive rhetoric was likely just 'enthusiastic market testing' for future political messaging.

Sources close to the research suggest that de Morès's proximity to figures like Theodore Roosevelt, his one-time neighbor, indicates he was 'networking' rather than, as some might assume, simply existing in the same geographical area. “He was building his brand,” explained a spokesperson for the Institute. “Imagine the LinkedIn connections he could have made if he’d just had Wi-Fi.”

The Institute plans to re-contextualize other historical figures who were 'misunderstood' by their eras, including a particularly ambitious project to rebrand the Spanish Inquisition as 'early judicial efficiency experts.'