There is a clip of George Michael and Morrissey on the talk show Eight Days A Week where they discuss a recently released book about Joy Division. In the interview, both George Michael and another panelist (whose name I unfortunately don't know) mention that the band was fascist, although it's also mentioned that they grew out of it as time went on and they moved on to form New Order after Ian Curtis' death.
What is the context for this? Were Joy Division literally fascists or is this some sort of industry or contemporary slang that simply doesn't parse to my American millennial ears?
For reference, the clip is here: https://youtu.be/_L6wHvnoPtE?t=1041
They did have a history of using some fascist/Nazi imagery: the band's namesake is from the novel House of Dolls which is about "Joy Divisions" - Jewish women in concentration camps being forced into sexual slavery by the Nazis. Also the cover of their album An Ideal for Living features a Hitler Youth boy drawn by Bernard Sumner (guitarist) who was referenced as "Bernard Albrecht" on the sleeve. Sumner and Hook (bassist) went on record saying that they had some interest in fascism, but drummer Stephen Morris later said that they were just trolling.
All this made some people wonder whether the band had Nazi sympathies, and it seems some people did seriously think so. All things considered (the post-punk subculture, such as it was at the time, the age of the members, etc.) it was likely just to be edgy/subversive/provocative - and in any case, the album cover was replaced on the 12-inch vinyl release.