Donald Trump is the wizard of digital black magic

There is no denying the US president's mastery of social media, with a predictable stream of semi-coherent yet emotion-packed rhetoric to cast doubt on established truths

Donald Trump's campaign of lies could well become the new template for how failing democracies. File picture: Alex Brandon

The 2020 US presidential election challenges — indeed, it should lay to rest — the popular notion that US president Donald Trump is a lackey of Russian president Vladimir Putin. 

Regardless of the outcome, Trump's performance — receiving millions more votes than he did in 2016 — suggests that it is he who is the master of propaganda, and that Putin is the one who should be taking notes.