Assad Really Needs to Try Harder

The more successful the tyrants, the better their ability to exploit new technology. Napoleon Bonaparte mastered printing. He owned two newspapers and was the patron of many French artists, including Jacques-Louis David, who commemorated his reign in paintings that were widely reproduced and made available to the French people. Adolf Hitler understood the value of getting flattering portraits out among the German masses, and his personal photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann, made certain there were plenty to choose from (while making a fortune doing so). Yet it was Der Führer’s mastery of the Volksempfänger, or people’s radio, that perpetuated his uncanny popularity. It is therefore a good bet that, although both Napoleon and Hitler would doubtless severely limit its freedom, they would enthusiastically partake of social media for propaganda, just as many democrats and dictators and even the pope are actively doing today.