There is no doubt that the situation is being manipulated and the broadcasters are a huge part of the problem. They choose which incidents to highlight and there is a bias in the way they operate. I am not suggesting it is all anti-City because many teams have suffered but on Sunday there was no discussion at all of the Jesus foul (a stonewall penalty) and the Foden goal chalked off for a foul (which was a good tackle). The broadcasters want a hotly-contested title race for commercial reasons (especially one involving the huge cash cow that is LFC). They don't want City to run away with the title.
The commercial imperative creates a pressure of its own and that leads to bias, sometimes unconscious bias. I am not suggesting referees are corrupt but they are cowardly and often make the decison which will give them the least grief from the media.