OK so it depends on what you mean by free press. I meant you can report the truth and that (usually) won’t get you arrested. I did not mean the mainstream press is always fair or honest.

There’s been a huge growth of independent journalists that give far more accurate accounts of leftist perspectives in protests, etc. Though you have to be careful because there’s plenty of dishonest independent journalists too. But if you have good media literacy and fact checking ability the information is still out there. As opposed to places where if you speak certain facts aloud you may be arrested.