A “cult of personality” occurs when a person uses the mass media to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through undeniable flattery and praise. Usually these are the authorities in authoritarian and totalitarian states and religious leaders. To form a cult of their own personality and propagate their ideas, they use such methods as censorship and oppression of freedom of speech, playing with symbols, rewriting history, creating the idea that only one person controls the state, etc.

As one example of the personality cult and its use in state propaganda, one can mention the King of France, Louis XIV, who ruled in the 17th-18th centuries. It was this ruler who called himself the “Sun King”, and he is also credited with the famous phrase “The state is me”. He concentrated extraordinary power in his hands and is considered one of the founders of the absolute monarchy as a form of government. Despite the fact that Napoleon Bonaparte was an army general of Revolutionary France and, in fact, a political opponent of the Bourbon dynasty and absolute monarchy, in 1804 he proclaimed himself Emperor of France and established his own cult of personality, although he was very different in entourage, he was analogue of the image of Louis XIV.

The 20th century gave the world such mass murderers and war criminals as Adolf Hitler, Volodymyr Lenin, Benito Mussolini and Joseph Stalin. They all had their own personality cults and powerful propaganda systems that justified the atrocities. Moreover, the cult of Lenin was perhaps most developed during the reign of Stalin, who thus wanted to exalt himself as if he were the closest ally and follower of Lenin, although this was not true.

Modern Russian propaganda does not lag behind Soviet predecessors. So, the British edition of BBC News back in 2001 wrote about the beginning of the development of the personality cult of Volodymyr Putin. Only a year had passed since Putin was officially elected to office and two years had passed since the beginning of his actual reign. The personality cult of the President of Russia developed rapidly due to the fact that the collapse of the USSR and the partial loss of imperial greatness became a tangible psychological blow to Russian society. The 90s of the XX century became a difficult test for the Russians: the economic crisis, the rise of corruption, the inability of law enforcement agencies to cope with rampant crime, and the army with the freedom fighters of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. The late ex-president Borys Yeltsyn had the image of a relative democrat and could not overcome these problems. He often got into comical situations related to alcohol abuse, which did not give Russia as a whole respect in the international arena, but personally - within Russia.

Against the background of the old and sick Yeltsyn, Putin had many competitive advantages: young, intelligent, educated, with a strong character, an athlete, a native of law enforcement agencies. Such a person ideally met the needs of the then Russian society. This allowed him to gradually clean up the political space in Russia, become a dictator and establish a totalitarian regime in the country.

The fact that Putin’s personality cult is only growing and strengthening is eloquently evidenced by the conflict that arose in the Russian authorities in 2023 with a potential new leader, whose authority in Russia “grew up” in the bloody war against Ukraine – Yevhenii Pryhozhyn, who was defeated during his rebellion. Moreover, Putin could not even tolerate such a nonentity who does not pose any threat to him, like the ex-leader of the terrorists of the so-called DNR Ihor Hirkin (Strielkov), who was imprisoned.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that French satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo recently allegedly featured an illustration on its cover of the recent situation at the World Fencing Championships in Milan. Then the Ukrainian saber fencer Olha Kharlan refused to shake hands with the losing rival from Russia. In the messages they add that the authors ridiculed the act of the Ukrainian athlete. It is not true.

Fact-checkers of the StopFake project investigated this case and determined that such a cover does not exist. According to the archive, there is no magazine with this cover on the official website. At the same time, the false cover was made using Photoshop.

Thus propagandists seek to show that their rhetoric is also being repeated in the West. So readers can get the impression that the whole world is opposed to Ukraine and supports Russia.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that US military personnel stationed in Ukraine will receive an increase in salary. The authors refer to the material of the Army Times. This is manipulation.

Fact-checkers of the StopFake project took up this case and determined that the journalists really reported on the approval by the US government of additional allowances for US military personnel serving in Ukraine. However, it is about a small group of American military personnel who are located in the American embassy in Kyiv and work as a security service. The material did not mention that this category of persons would participate in the Russian-Ukrainian war.

The propagandists simply distorted the meaning of the material and pulled out only the theses that were beneficial to them.

This thesis was spread by the Russian media quoting propagandist, representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mariia Zakharova. At one of her briefings, she said that Ukrainians supposedly secretly admire Putin and want him to become the president of Ukraine. The fact-checkers of the StopFake project analyzed the case and determined that such a thesis is unfounded.

Zakharova threw in information without evidence or specific facts. In fact, there is no evidence that Ukrainians could be “infatuated with Putin” or would like such a president for themselves. For example, the Foundation “Democratic Initiatives” named after Ilko Kucheriv  together with the sociological service of the Razumkov Center conducted a survey on the attitude of Ukrainians towards the Russian president. Thus, 82.2% of respondents agreed with the statement that “Putin is Hitler today”. That is, most Ukrainians do not see Putin as a leader.

Thus, propagandists want to show that Ukrainians, as they say, do not really support their power. Solidarity with the Russians and their politicians and at the same time support Russia in its aggression.

Anonymous telegram channels and Russian media are circulating a video of US President Joe Biden reviewing books in the “brain exercises for dementia” section. The video shows a sign “brain exercises for dementia”. The authors report that this was recorded by journalists in one of their stories. It's a lie.

VoxCheck fact-checkers took up this case and found out that the video was edited. The original video was recorded by CBS News back in 2012 and doesn't have a dementia sign on it. The story itself shows then-Vice President Joe Biden visiting the new Costco bookstore in Washington. In the video, one can see that Biden is looking at children's books, and there are no dementia signs nearby.

Dementia is a syndrome characterized by the loss of a person's cognitive functions, that is, the functions of thinking, memory, and the ability to do daily activities. Dementia mostly appears in old age. Actually, this is how propagandists hinted that Joseph Biden was ill and, for example, he could no longer hold the presidency.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that during a meeting with Israeli President Joe Biden involuntarily fell asleep. In the publication, the authors add an excerpt from the video of the meeting. It is not true.

VoxCheck fact-checkers determined that the propagandists cut the original video of the meeting at a favorable moment. Then the President of the United States simply lost his mind and put his head down correcting himself. The authors passed it off as a “dream”.

By spreading this fake, the propagandists want to discredit Joe Biden and show that Ukraine is supported by supposedly “unlucky” politicians. The authors have repeatedly spread fakes about Biden, which we have refuted. Among such anonymous telegram channels claimed that Joe Biden “sniffed” a teenager or that three hands were found on an official.