Contrary to what John McCain seems to assert, free press is not being suppressed. Not one news organization as been shut down, no news rooms have been raided. The press is every bit as free as ever it has been.
But the press is being called to account, and Trump is calling bullsh*t on a lot of what they have been promoting, between either not reporting at all, or presenting such a totally distorted picture of what actually happened, that it qualifies as “fake news”.
A lie remains just as much of a lie, whether it be a sin of commission, or a sin of omission. Either way, “fake news” is a violation of the Ninth Commandment. Murder, adultery, and stealing, dealing respectively with life, virtue, and property, are generally considered more serious offenses before the law than the bearing of false witness (lying). And yet, what the latter may lack in severity, it more than makes up for in prevalence.
McCain can't recognize the difference between a President criticizing the press and a President suppressing it. I think it's because McCain tends to project: if McCain were President, he would try to actively suppress any and all criticism of him through extra-legal means.