A '''cult of personality''' refers to a situation in which an individual, often a dictator of a country, uses propaganda and media tools excessively to create a strongly positive image of himself, often with unquestioning praise. People 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]], [[Fidel Castro]], and [[Richard Dawkins' cult of personality|Richard Dawkins]].
Whilst rarer in democratic societies, there are examples of a personality cult being built around certain western political leaders including [[John F. Kennedy]], [[Margaret Thatcher]], [[Ronald Reagan]], and most recently [[Barack Obama]]among liberals and [[Donald Trump]] among conservatives.
A cult of personality is similar to hero worship, except it involves mass media propaganda.