Legitimate criticism is the cornerstone of improvement. The only people who don't want criticism to be aired are those who are not genuinely interested in making things better, but rather benefit from them remaining bad.
Also, on how media is weaponized, here's some more context: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2021/6536...
I also agree with the second link that you shared. Media is weaponized against democracy. All the mainstream TV channels in India are busy attacking opposition, or dis-crediting any protests against government or promoting Hindu-Muslim hatered. Most of the channels are owned by crony capitalists which have ties to the government.