I worked as a journalist for the AFP, the french equivalent to AP and Reuters. We do not CHOOSE to report whatever the police says, we just do not have a choice.

I once covered a protest that was peaceful until the cops swarmed in and beat the shit out of everyone. As a reporter on the scene, I saw several protesters being beaten up into a bloody mess, while none of the cops suffered any injury. Back in the office, my boss refused to let me include any of the real details or photos of cops committing acts of horrific brutality. Why? Because police would refuse to cooperate with our organization if I did, and our profits rely on the police giving us privileged access. Instead, I was forced to write up bullshit according to the chief of police's version of events, which was that the police did nothing wrong, that no protesters were hurt and that multiple officers suffered grievous injuries. My coworkers (and ALL journalists who worked with police in any capacity) have stories of cops claiming to be "injured" for as little as a tiny scratch or a broken nail, but they will cave a civilian's skull in and not consider it an injury at all. Also, cops target journalists during those events - the tear gas will always magically be aimed at the nearest journalist until all journalists go away. If that is not enough, as several of my colleagues reported happened to them, the police will literally arrest you, take your camera, delete everything incriminating, then let you go.