Up until the war, anyone in the West could happily choose their source of media, from RT to aljazera, whereas in Russia, every single piece of media is state-controlled, every newspaper and all influencers have to join a state registry.

Alternative content gets labeled extremist, and you can be labeled a criminal for anything now ,basically.

so while the West has 100% been going down the wrong path, there is still a vast difference in the type of censorship and legal ramifications.

Russia is basically going full China