Hannah Arendt made [the comment that follows](Hannah Arendt made the comments that follow in 1974 during an interview with the French writer Roger Errera.) in 1974 during an interview with the French writer Roger Errera.
The moment we no longer have a free press, anything can happen. What makes it possible for a totalitarian or any other dictatorship to rule is that people are not informed; how can you have an opinion if you are not informed? If everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes anything any longer. (Emphasis added)
Consider for a moment why the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution restricts the U.S. Government from preventing a free press and from instituting a national religion. National religions and state run press were two tools of tyranny during the 17th and 18th centuries and why the founders felt important to retrict the U.S. Government access to those tools. Unfortunately, I think the far right has found a loophole to the process.