Yes, the news recently that the FBI monitored Aretha Franklin?!?

The same powerful people that targeted socialists or civil rights leaders also influenced or even owned the media. It’s almost like the internet, at least early on, kind of broke that grip, and the rise of hard right media funded by billionaires with social media promotion weapons/bots/coordination is a response to that.

Where on e.g. Twitter or Reddit would that be disallowed? Isn't r/antiwork/ hitting the front page regularly?

I'm an Indian muslim, and I know many asian and middle eastern muslims. I also know a smattering of Sikhs, Hindus, jews, etc. I can't say that the religious attitudes of any of these groups seemed to be represented on tv. No one is saying it's a conspiracy. But it's not a conspiracy either that when you start interacting with many minority groups you notice in general they are fairly religious. And it's their experience that get's ignored in the American national 'christian right vs secular left' rivalry.

believing that what you see on TV reflects reality 1:1 is exactly why it's so dangerous—it's a wholly artificial, professionally-curated window into reality, nothing more, nothing less. I'm a bit shocked to see people still buying into the idea that it's an accurate reflection of reality, as you are, still, in the current year.

what makes you think that the content that appears on television is any sort of democratic free marketplace of ideas? why would that be the case, given its obviously corporate structure? like sure, you have "FOX News" presenting one Approved Viewpoint, and everyone else representing The Other Approved Viewpoint... but where are all the Unapproved Viewpoints on television? obviously, they're not there, for wholly obvious reasons.