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,[1] Mao Zedong, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Adolf Hitler, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein, Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini, and Fidel Castro.
"Cult of Personality" was also a song by New York band Living Colour that won the 1989 Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. The song makes references to Stalin and Benito Mussolini. The song is featured in the popular video game Guitar Hero 3 and is also known as the entrance music for professional wrestler CM Punk.
