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Autocrats understand a basic reality: if people can’t find reliable information, they can’t organize against abuse. So Step 6 is an all-out assault on what we know and who helps us find it. From independent journalists to commentators to organizations created to disseminate information to the hardest to reach, authoritarianism depends on replacing truth with manufactured lies, on censoring information and cutting off access to data. It’s not simply about shutting down a newspaper or jailing a reporter or cancelling a satirical program; it’s a multipronged campaign to delegitimize facts, amplify friendly voices, flood the public sphere with lies, and then replace scrutiny with stage-managed messaging. Once truth is optional, power becomes nearly unstoppable.
This step looks familiar around the world. Just last week, another Russian journalist, the former publisher of Pravda, fell [ [link removed] ] to this death in what Russian authorities are saying was a suicide, which echoes a number of suspicious deaths [ [link removed] ] of critics of Putin. In Turkey and Hungary, as Erdoğan and Orbán rose to power, their governments leaned on licensing, fines, and ownership changes to bring major outlets into line. In Venezuela, independent stations were closed or taken over; state media became the primary channel for the government’s narrative. A chief tactic in the playbook, aspiring dictators recognize that information is their enemy, so they harass journalists, push smear campaigns, and use friendly oligarchs to buy up newsrooms so criticism disappears behind a facade of plurality. But they don’t stop there because truth can be found in non-new spaces. Thus, even non-journalistic truth-tellers aren’t safe. From India to Myanmar to Kazakhstan [ [link removed] ], humor can be terrifying to those in search of obeisance. Whether it’s straight journalism or comedic interpretation of the facts on the ground, the result is the same: when the independent voices no longer investigate or hold power to account, corruption grows, abuses flourish, and citizens are denied the truth.
The tactics are predictable and precise. First, delegitimize: call critical reporting “fake news” or “biased” and brand the purveyors as “enemies of the people.” Second, choke independent outlets economically: have allies withdraw advertising, pursue regulatory penalties, or force ownership changes. Third, intimidate and criminalize reporting or performing: subpoenas, arrests, threats, or lawsuits that bleed newsrooms dry and force satirists into hiding. But the goal isn’t merely to deny truth. The mission is to manufacture a reality that reflects ideological purity, intellectual dishonesty and cannot be countermanded. Thus, the authoritarian regimes flood the airwaves and inboxes with loyalist outlets, propaganda talkers, and compromised social accounts that push the autocrat’s vision of what should be. They weaponize platforms and algorithms so the friendly narrative is amplified, often going around direct confrontation with cultural communications that are more insidious because they don’t sound political. Over time, these voices become the voice of the state, and anything in opposition is suspect and subject to punishment.
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We’ve seen the breeding ground for this approach in America over the past few decades. It began with the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine [ [link removed] ]by Ronald Reagan in 1987, an early 20th century law that had once required that all major viewpoints be aired on broadcast networks. Once Reagan eliminated this obligation to actual media bias, we have witnessed an unparalleled acceleration in the past decade. Today, public officials and pro-regime networks label mainstream outlets dishonest. They have coordinated disinformation campaigns on social platforms, and since January 2025, we’ve watched intensified efforts to delegitimize individual journalists. Step 5 loyalist Brendan Carr, the chair of the FCC, has been unadulterated in his willingness to threaten critics and reward allies. For example, he recently signaled a willingness to remove ownership caps on local televisions stations [ [link removed] ], which would benefit autocracy acolytes like Sinclair Broadcast Group. Increasing the monopoly power of the media closest to the people gives this regime a direct injection point for propaganda, which is Sinclair’s bread and butter [ [link removed] ]. Taken together, this alignment of ideology and access serves to weaken trust in institutions that check power, then substitute controlled channels in their place. When trusted sources are undermined, a vacuum opens, and quickly gets filled with propaganda and lies.
Two of the most glaring attacks we’ve seen recently were the suspension of Stephen Colbert’s and Jimmy Kimmel’s late night shows, both of which are highly critical of this administration. Colbert’s cancellation was explained by Paramount as being the result of “low ratings” (even though Colbert’s show was breaking [ [link removed] ] record viewership this year). We are supposed to ignore the merger between Paramount and Skydance that received approval after CBS took action. Kimmel’s brief show suspension was preceded by a pressure campaign from the head of the FCC, simply because Kimmel said something that offended the president and his party. Less commented upon but equally dangerous was the termination of Karen Attiah for opining on political violence and race [ [link removed] ], despite her actual role as an opinion editor.
Whether it’s compromising newsrooms, firing commentators or leveraging political power to extort and bribe broadcasters, the danger is real. Step 6 isn’t focused on a single outlet — it targets the entire ecosystem of truth. Erasure and corruption erode the shared facts that make collective action possible. When people can’t agree on the basics — what happened, who is responsible, what the law says — democratic remedies like voting, protesting, and litigating are far less effective. Earlier this Summer on Assembly Required [ [link removed] ], we talked about how this captured media environment is turning accountability into theater and normalizes state propaganda as the dominant soundtrack of public life. You can take a listen below:
So what do we do? The defense is practical and immediate:
Protect journalists and press freedom: support organizations that defend reporters, fund legal defense for journalists under attack, and push for laws that shield journalists from intimidation and Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP).
Bolster independent outlets: subscribe, donate, and share reporting from local and national independent newsrooms so they aren’t economically vulnerable to pressure.
Fight disinformation where it spreads: call out demonstrable falsehoods [ [link removed] ] (without repeating them verbatim), demand transparency from platforms about amplification and moderation, and support media literacy programs that teach people how to spot bad sources.
Back public-interest media and local news: invest in public radio and television, often primary sources of local journalism, and support the city and regional reporting that is the first line of defense when national narratives go awry.
Hold institutions accountable: insist that regulators, advertisers, and corporate owners refuse to participate in censorship or politicized takeovers of information outlets by replying to public comment periods [ [link removed] ], participating in boycotts and notifying your local media stations of your concerns.
Keep records and spotlight abuses: document attacks on press freedom, amplify whistleblowers, and make political interference in media a sustained story — not a one-off scandal.
Step 6 in the 10 Steps to Autocracy and Authoritarianism [ [link removed] ] is an attack on our shared reality as a precursor to the lies that seek to keep us silent. It’s also one of the key steps ordinary people can tackle with clear, everyday actions: read, subscribe (even right here on Substack), donate, share credible reporting, and call out lies when you see them. When the press survives and free speech thrives, democracy has a chance. When our access to news, commentary and the truth falters, everything else follows. Refuse to let truth be optional: protect it, defend it, and make it loud.

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