I don't see anyone freaking out about covid and accepting the lockdowns and mandates without a lot of nudging and hectoring from media, whose messaging which we now know was largely shaped by government officials who have connections to industry.

I think you and I have a lot of overlap - the main difference being that you see government and private entities as two different institutions. Sadly, at this point I see most government agencies as an extension of private interest. At least in the US, corporations write the policy legislation which creates both regulations and subsidies that are favorable to them. The resulting spending not only directly increases wealth disparities, it also leads to more inflation which exacerbates those same inequalities.