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Propaganda With Filters: The Strangest Dictator Instagrams

Some of the most prolific Instagrammers happen to be some of the world's most notorious dictators.

Propaganda With Filters: The Strangest Dictator Instagrams
Instagram / @kadyrov_95

Instagram — you know it for the cat pics and celeb selfies

But it's also a propaganda tool for some of the world's most notorious dictators

When he’s not visiting with schoolchildren or waving to his adoring fans, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad is slaughtering his own people. (Video via YouTube / معاذ ابو مهدي

No mention of which can be found on his official Instagram account.  

Instead, he’s kissing babies

He’s praying. 

And his wife Asma is feeding the poor.  

He might be accused of war crimes, but on Instagram, Assad is a man of the people. (Video via Daraya Network)

Fellow dictator, Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is on Instagram, too. Strange — given his country’s history of social media censorship. 

If you’re not one of his 380,000 followers, here’s a glimpse into the daily routine of the man who has the ultimate authority in Iran. 

Khamenei is no stranger to Throwback Thursday.

Or hashtags … 

He even uses filters. Not too shabby for a 76-year-old. 

Then again, we shouldn’t be surprised given his Twitter presence. Still, Khamenei's social media game is no match for Ramzan Kadyrov: fitness guru, equestrian, lover of cats, and brutal Chechen rebel-turned-warlord accused of extrajudicial killings and torture. (Video via Chechnya Today

Never one to shy away from a good filter, Kadyrov uses Instagram to show off his sensitive side, as well as his bromance with Vladimir Putin.   

The two men appear to have a lot in common. 

This summer, Kadyrov made his account private. But we have it on good authority he’s accepting new followers. 

This video includes music from Broke for Free / CC BY NC 3.0.