I found it very shocking how “in sync” the German news media is. I don’t quite understand what the mechanism here is (compared to US where it’s much more clear how it works).

It is especially hypocritical because of the outrage against the AfD and demonstrations about lies and fascist propaganda that is used on social media, but then clearly we can see they’ve been lying and manipulating us for decades. How can they be surprised that angry people are don’t believe the “official version” any more? This is one of the symptoms that is feeding the rise of fascism in Germany - and in all western democracies.