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I am wondering if there is a word commonly used to describe someone glorified/championed a lot but who doesn't deserve it. A good example is how the media often creates bias by creating a 'perfect' politician.

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  • I may have used - hyped
    – alpa
    Commented Jun 22, 2015 at 18:01
  • @Othya - the original question didn't ask for a word to describe a person, but rather the context.
    – user66974
    Commented Jun 22, 2015 at 18:02

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That person might be called a tin god or a tin hero.

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  • Some would call them self-made men in love with their makers; others might say they are people who take at face value the flattery of sycophants, basking in undeserved (and ultimately specious) glory; and yet others would say that they are mere puppets of those who need someone to put on display for the masses to adore.
    – TimR
    Commented Jun 22, 2015 at 17:54
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I believe that some extent you could refer to "idolatry": it is defined as the "worship of an image" or icon, but also had the negative connotation of referring to an "excess devotion" to something or someone. Here, in this case, it could apply to a politician or a celebrity built by the media.

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I think you are referring to what is generally called media overexposure , or excessive media coverage:

  • The reality is that it’s truly hard for any one person or organization to get so much positive exposure that people just get sick of you. You can make the case this happened to Madonna in the 1982 and the Jennifer Lopez in the early 00s. And to Donald Trump for the last 25 years.

(www.forbes.com)

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    Since OP specifically mentions but who doesn't deserve it, probably overrated more precisely matches the request.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jun 22, 2015 at 17:23
  • You may be right, but I take the don't deserve it part of the question more as a personal perception that we often have when a famous person is all over the headlines for a (too long) period of time. Actually papers rate these people according the return they have on sales or on internet views. What is excessive, for one reason or another is the "undeserved"coverage that they receive.
    – user66974
    Commented Jun 22, 2015 at 17:31
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    There's always overhyped, for a word that simultaneously suggests excessive media exposure and undeservedly fulsome praise.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jun 22, 2015 at 17:39
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Media darling describes someone lionized by the media, whether or not he or she deserves it, but it isn't necessarily pejorative. False idol is anything wrongly treated in a worshipful manner, but might be overly Biblical for your purposes. You could potentially combine them, and call the person a falsely idolized media darling.

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Possibly empty suit:

A person of some seeming distinction who is actually a product of publicity

... though it's getting dated as an idiom. Works for politicians, though.

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Sounds to me that you're describing someone who's AN EMPTY SHIRT, a POSER.

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  • could you give us some definitions of the two expressions you suggest? Also, emphasis is with bold (**bold**) or italics (*italics*) rather than capitals.
    – marcellothearcane
    Commented Jul 1, 2017 at 8:45

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