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Potemkin2

Pronunciation: /pəˈtɛmkɪn/

Definition of Potemkin

adjective

informal

having a false or deceptive appearance, especially one presented for the purpose of propaganda:it is a Potemkin party; there is little behind the impressive parliamentary group seen on television

Origin:

1930s: from Grigori Aleksandrovich Potyomkin (often transliterated Potemkin), a favourite of Empress Catherine II of Russia, who reputedly gave the order for sham villages to be built for the empress's tour of the Crimea in 1787