David Runciman's book, "How Democracy Ends", starts with an analysis of various coups in democratic countries (post WWII) and notes how it was important to quic

David Runciman's book, "How Democracy Ends", starts with an analysis of various coups in democratic countries (post WWII) and notes how it was important to quickly take control of mass media to establish the new regime. Turns out that today, taking control of media isn't so important, and it is not just because the internet is a thing now. Rather, it is exactly because it was discovered how effective "discrediting campaigns" are. Your example was a microcosm. Consider environmental pollution, smoking, vehicle safety, or climate change. For every Silent Spring or Unsafe at Any Speed, opposed interests just produce enough counter-claims to make many people turn away from the whole issue. And of course, modern media loves a good conflict and so boosts unreliable signals.