In the 20th century, it was customary for Latin American military juntas to start a putsch by seizing control of the national broadcasting company. This often happened during the night or in the early hours of the morning. On 11 September 1973, Augusto Pinochet and his troops took over the radio and TV stations in Chile by 8am. On 24 March 1976, the leader of the Argentinian military junta captured Isabel Perón at 1am. By 3.10am, all TV and radio stations started to play military marches.
The actors have changed since then and so have their methods. What is unchanged is the idea that political power is about the control of the media. This is why the US and the EU have been engaged in a raging dispute over social media regulation and content moderation since JD Vance criticised the Europeans at last year’s Munich Security Conference for suppressing free speech.
