Explicit control is in many ways better than this kind of subtle behind-the-scenes manipulation. It's more visible, easier to gather resistance against (yes, even under the control), and relatively easier to dismantle. To "subvert the controls" people first have to know they exist, and then go through the friction of subverting them, which very few people bother to do in practice.

You can of course criticize whatever you want, have double standards, and call things "authoritarian regimes" with no idea what those actually look like. Doesn't make them so.