Being a megalomaniac with a cult of personality can help you get a lot done. It's practically a leadership technique of its own. Of course, it also enables you to override concerns for safety and side effects ...
> post-truth, frauds, and mass manipulation
Some of this is new and some of it isn't. The internet wrecked traditional news and helped replace it with clickbait propaganda, but papers have always been happy to participate in propaganda they liked (Daily Mail "hurrah for the blackshirts" passim). It does feel that since about 2010 it's really escalated and everyone is joining some sort of cult now.
> post-truth, frauds, and mass manipulation
Some of this is new and some of it isn't. The internet wrecked traditional news and helped replace it with clickbait propaganda, but papers have always been happy to participate in propaganda they liked (Daily Mail "hurrah for the blackshirts" passim). It does feel that since about 2010 it's really escalated and everyone is joining some sort of cult now.