James Murdoch, the renegade son of the Murdoch family dynasty who broke with the Empire last summer, has publicly denounced “media property owners” whose refusal to vote last week led to a violent assault on the US Capitol five people were killed.
“The sacking of the Capitol is proof that what we thought was dangerous is actually very, very much. These outlets, spreading lies to their audiences, have unleashed insidious and uncontrollable forces that will stay with us for years, ”the youngest Murdoch said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Friday.
He didn’t name Fox News, but the network, run by his father Rupert and brother Lachlan, chairman and CEO of parent company Fox Corp., sparked unfounded rumors that President Donald Trump had won an election he did had clearly lost. The endless repetition of the lie about Fox, via rival channels attacking Fox from the right, and by Trump and his allies inflamed the president’s base so much that they attacked Congress, threatened lawmakers and temporarily prevented them from being the president-elect Joe Biden to certify election victory.
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“I hope that the people who thought it was not so dangerous now understand and stop,” Murdoch told the FT, although he “has not yet seen any evidence”.
Murdoch, once considered Rupert’s obvious heir, stepped down from the business after Walt Disney acquired most of Fox’s entertainment fortune two years ago. He publicly expressed concern about the way News Corp. reported devastating forest fires in Australia from 2019 to 2020 and refused to acknowledge that climate change was a factor.
In February last year, he announced investments in three environmental and climate projects. In August 2020, he officially stepped down from the Board of Directors of News Corp. and referred to “Disagreements about certain published editorial content”.
James Murdoch and his wife Kathryn Murdoch said in a statement to the FT: “The spread of disinformation – whether through elections, public health or climate change – has real consequences.”
“Many media property owners have as much responsibility for it as the elected officials, who know the truth but choose to tell lies. We hope that the horrific scenes we have all seen will finally convince these enablers to reject the toxic policies they have promoted forever. “
Earlier this week, Murdoch and former Disney Asia Pacific head Uday Shankar announced a new company to explore mobility and connectivity opportunities in India and Southeast Asia, backed by Murdoch’s investment firm Lupa Systems.
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