There's a degree of state influence on the US media, but turn on any news site and you'll see criticism of the current regime. I'm speaking as a Ukrainian immigrant who sometimes tunes into Russian news, where they call me a Nazi and say I'm a threat to the Russian way of life. I don't give a shit about US/Russia relations, but if you wanna talk about China and their human rights violations, Russia is a close second.

"I could also say US mainstream media is indirectly state-controlled, and independent journalists are fired or discredited for speaking out against the current regime."

I guess you was downvoted for that phrase which can't be true /s