The problem with your claim is that it is irrefutable as anyone denying it could be accused of being manipulated to do so (in fact you are accusing obstinate of

The problem with your claim is that it is irrefutable as anyone denying it could be accused of being manipulated to do so (in fact you are accusing obstinate of just that) In my view it is an authoritarian trap to defend direct political censorship by pointing to the inevitable force of group think called culture (including, of course, the media), as the latter always necessarily exists everywhere but the former can be abolished. Manipulation is simply part of any culture. The more interesting question is what other forces there are in a culture to counter that manipulation. Political censorship is an attempt to suppress such counter forces, not a replacement for manipulation. Censorship is supposed to make maniuplation more effective.