Cult of personality

For the popular song, see Cult of Personality (song).

A cult of personality refers to a situation in which a prominent figure uses propaganda and media tools excessively to create a strongly positive image of himself, often with unquestioning praise. A cult of personality is similar to hero worship, except it involves mass media propaganda.

In the West, there are examples of a personality cult being built around political leaders including John F. Kennedy, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, and most recently Barack Obama among liberals and Donald Trump among conservatives.

Some notorious leaders in history who have created a cult of personality include Kim Jong Il, Mao Zedong, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Adolf Hitler, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein, Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini, and Fidel Castro.

See also

Propaganda poster implying Stalin is the spiritual heir of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Lenin. The mass of people at the bottom is to imply strong popular support.

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• Public relations
• Faucism
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• List of dictators