The privately controlled media that manipulated the image of this presidency, downplayed / ignored its failings, exaggerated the contempt for opponents and generally just passively accepted all this insanity as normal is not just complicit but an active participant in the rise and installation of authoritarianism in the US.

It's not an independent media any more ... it's a direct arm of corporate America ... the same corporate America that wants to usher in authoritarianism