[dragonwriter]

It's possible that the GP was referring to the evidence in recent US news reporting that the present government is attempting to build control of the media analogous to that in Russia and prevent dissent, though clearly that attempt is in its early phases and has not yet succeeded. That, in other words, the implied conclusion of "Have you seen the media in the US?" wasn't "It's relationship to the state is just like in Russia" but "There is an active effort to transform the relationship of media to the state to one like that currently seen in Russia."