Of course they are, but look at who owns the mainstream media. There's a world of difference between reporting the truth and reporting one-sided facts because your strings are being pulled.

Take for example the alleged Russian hacking. Look at how it was reported. Whilst MSM never actually accused Russia of hacking, it was reported in such a clever way that everyone actually believed that Russia hacked the election. Mass brainwashing is NOT reporting facts. Sure, it falls well within freedom of speech, but often relies on people's acceptance to simply believe what is reported without questioning it. It's my belief that Trump doesn't want them to shut up per se, but more importantly to stop trying to manipulate public opinion and get on with reporting facts, so as to allow people to make up their own mind.

I don't believe this is fascism at all. Honesty is something that has been sadly lacking for decades, especially in politics and the media.