Is that really your takeaway from Philip Roth’s work? Maybe you were reading David Lee Roth by accident?
Why does a tyrant's marketing campaign matter?
It is of no interest to you how some tyrants come to be reviled while others are lionized?
Not really. The ones doing the lionizing are obviously deceived or fearful for their lives and loved ones.
You don't think the outcome of world-historic events influences a society's honestly held views of historical figures? That seems such a bizarre view and difficult to defend when the events themselves almost pale in comparison to the narratives that follow them and persist for decades, if not centuries, afterward.