A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique.

By that definition you could call the US, or various other countries, dictatorships. However I don't see how Xi Jinping could not be objectively labelled a dictator.

Direct democracy FTW. Let people vote on any- and every-thing, for better or worse. People will learn and adapt, and if they get a chance to review policy this will be significant. Meanwhile, you cannot sustain any disinformation campaign indefinitely, even if they might be successful for the occassional vote.