Other political leaders abuse referenda by turning them into emotional appeals to public opinion, possibly accompanied by demagoguery or fear. Public opinion may be largely uninformed about the issue, its finer points or the alternatives, yet by voting for it or against it, the public gives (or refuses) the government a mandate to continue and accomplish a given policy objective, the consequences of which may be unknown to them. Referenda have been used effectively to give 'concensus' to dictatorial regimes or the regimes which follow from coups d'etat.