FWIW, I don't believe that managers should shield engineers from what's going on up above. Instead, they should present the information in a manageable way, but also in a way that's honest. Political reality is too important to your reports' careers, so withholding it is kinda irresponsible.
No, managers should actually make the engineers' jobs easier. The manager should take things off their plates (or streamline with good processes) anything that they aren't specialized to do.
This picture is accurate, just someone should realize this shit on the top is not needed and not adding any value.