Editing Dictator (section)

==== Crowd manipulation ====
Some dictators have been masters of [[crowd manipulation]], such as [[Benito Mussolini]] and Adolf Hitler. Others were more prosaic speakers, such as [[Joseph Stalin]] and [[Francisco Franco]]. Typically, the dictator's people seize control of all media, censor or destroy the opposition, and give strong doses of propaganda daily, often built around a [[cult of personality]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Morstein |first=Marx Fritz |display-authors=etal |title=Propaganda and Dictatorship |publisher=Princeton UP |isbn=978-1-4067-4724-9|date=March 2007 }}</ref>

Mussolini and Hitler used similar titles referring to them as "the Leader". Mussolini used "Il [[Duce]]" and Hitler was generally referred to as "der [[Führer]]", both meaning 'Leader' in Italian and German respectively. Franco used a similar title, "El [[Caudillo]]" ("the Head", 'the chieftain')<ref>{{cite book|ref=Hamil|editor=Hamil, Hugh M. |title=Caudillos: Dictators in Spanish America|publisher =University of Oklahoma Press|year= 1992|isbn=978-0-8061-2428-5|chapter=Introduction|pages=5–6}}</ref> and for Stalin his adopted name, meaning "Man of Steel", became synonymous with his role as the absolute leader. For Mussolini, Hitler, and Franco, the use of modest, non-traditional titles displayed their absolute power even stronger as they did not need any, not even a historic legitimacy either. However, in the case of Franco, the title "Caudillo" did have a longer history for political-military figures in both Latin America and Spain. Franco also used the phrase "[[By the Grace of God]]" on coinage or other material displaying him as ''Caudillo'', whereas Hitler and Mussolini rarely used such language or imagery. {{cn|date=October 2024}}