Populism Vs Totaliterism

The U.S. people have a weird fear of Totaliterism. One can find a trace of that phobia in American fiction and movies. From their point of view, there are some primary sources of Totaliterism:
A dictator and his gang
A group of fanatic religious people
A group of fanatic people who believe in a specified ideology
An intelligent machine or a bunch of machines
However, I think the most dangerous threat to democracy is Populism, not Totalitersm. According to the last U.S. election, we can figure out that a populist leader can ruin the basis of democracy. In that case, the system has a democratic shape, but indeed, a dictatorship is growing fast in the heart of the system.
I think there is no way to fear the new technologies. Although the latest technologies make some limitations and problems, they will help us have a better life at last.