It is normal... first Social Media desensitizated all of us... by the masses. It is hard to prove now what is true or false... Even "sensible Governments", left and right are applying techniques that Trump popularized... Look at the EU today! Add that to a fragile real economy (not what you see in the stock market) so everyone is afraid of a bold move and being written into a black list.
I used to have a professor in that showed us documents (from FOIA) how, in the 80s, the FBI contacted his employers after his interviews no to hire him because his Communist ideas... Today you would not even get FOIA on that. Imagine now with the technology how a government hostile to you can ruin your life. The best way to survive, put your head down and go as unnoticed as possible.