> Every major country does this, every election, to every other major country. It's something we live with and I don't get the overreaction.

Please don't normalize this kind of behavior. Every country does not do "this". There is no major news agency supported directly by US Federal Funds, except perhaps NPR, but that has been openly critical of the US all the time.

And that is perhaps the test of truly independent news outlet: if its willing to criticize its own Government, if its able to do so, even when the information paints the Govt. in a really bad light.