“I’m not sure it’s commonly understood to what lengths this administration is willing to go to bypass the ‘filter,’ as Bush calls the media,” the cartoonist replied in an e-mail interview. “The president made it official Wednesday — his Justice Department, fresh from signing off on torture, apparently thinks propaganda’s OK too.”

When asked if he thought the press has underreported the Gannon episode, pundit payola, and other examples of media manipulation, Trudeau said: “It’s not that it’s been underreported so far. It’s just that the media, in both its own and the public’s interest, ought to stay with this story. If Bush is prepared to defend fake news, then the media should be equally prepared to say why it’s anti-democratic and an abuse of power.”

Garry Trudeau: Bush ‘apparently thinks propaganda’s OK’