News Corporation may face two new criminal investigations over these allegations - one in Australia, one in Britain - on top of the four criminal investigations they are already undergoing in the phone hacking/police bribery scandal (three in Britain, one in the U.S.)
Yesterday News Corporation issued a statement calling the TV piracy allegations, which were reported by both the BBC and an Australian newspaper, "baseless accusations."
Today Rupert Murdoch took to Twitter to attack those who are making these allegations of criminal wrongdoing at News Corporation:
Rupert Murdoch has launched a fightback on Twitter against what he described as "lies and libels" against News Corporation, attacking "enemies" including "old toffs and rightwingers".
The media mogul tweeted three times in the early hours of Thursday morning London time attacking his critics.
In his first tweet he said:
"Seems every competitor and enemy piling on with lies and libels. So bad, easy to hit back hard, which preparing."
Murdoch's outburst dovetailed with a statement from Chase Carey, his right-hand man and News Corp's chief operating officer, who accused the BBC of "gross misrepresentation" over a Panorama documentary which alleged that its former subsidiary NDS was involved in helping computer hackers to undermine ONdigital (later rebranded as ITV Digital).
Murdoch followed up with another tweet in which he categorised the different types of "enemies" News Corporation faces:
Enemies many different agendas, but worst old toffs and right wingers who still want last century's status quo with their monoplies.
Murdoch ended his barrage with a tweet exclaiming:Let's have it on! Choice, freedom of thought and markets, individual personal responsibility
On Thursday News Corp released a statement claiming that the BBC's Panorama documentary, Murdoch's TV Pirates, had "presented manipulated and mischaracterised emails to produce unfair and baseless accusations".
Earlier this month News Corp and Permira announced the sale of NDS to Cisco in a $5bn deal.
News Corp also on Thursday published a letter to Panorama from NDS executive chairman, Abe Peled, accusing the BBC current affairs programme of having "seriously misconstrued legitimate activities" the company undertakes in running its encryption business.
Murdoch was also the subject of a 50-minute PBS programme, Murdoch's Scandal, which aired in the US on Tuesday and in the UK on Wednesday. While it did not contain any major new revelations, the fact that a high-profile broadcaster aired such a programme in his adopted home was likely to have caused embarrassment.
Ah, yes - Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation, a paragon of personal responsibility and free choice for all.
That's why Murdoch had his company steal other pay TV companies security codes and distribute them to pirates to distribute via the net.
He wanted free pay TV for all!
Except for his own pay TV networks, of course.
Those you have to pay for.
But what a guy!
Murdoch is just looking out for the little fellow and working to make this world a better place for the 99% while those evil "old toffs" and "right wingers" are trying to save their "monopolies."
Right.
You have to wonder, does he believe his own b.s or does he just spew this stuff like his morning phlegm?
In any case, Mr. Murdoch and News Corporation are now facing some serious problems that even the master of the cover-up, Joel Klein, may not be able to fix.
Just as the Watergate scandal unraveled over the course of a few years, with each revelation exposing just how corrupt the Nixon administration really was, the News Corp. scandals are slowly but surely exposing the rot that is at the core of this criminal company.
And just as each revelation in the Watergate scandal brought the investigation closer to Nixon himself, these new revelations are coming dangerously close to Rupert Murdoch.
After all, the people that are accused of stealing the codes and handing them to pirates reported DIRECTLY to his office.
No wonder he's hitting out on Twitter.
Murdoch knows he's in trouble and he's frustrated by it.
How can The Old Ghoul criticize "lies and libels" when they are the foundation of his business empire and the essence of his character?
ReplyDeleteLets hope that if this billionaire piece of turd can be brought down so may the education mayor. He has a year plus to continue his attack on public education, maybe just maybe the press will start to really expose his education miracle and expose it for what it is.
ReplyDeleteby the way, in Britain the term " old toffs" actually means old gay males.
ReplyDeleteRather inappropriate for such a dignified modern man who espouses free thought. It just shows what a really tolerant and kindhearted man he truly is. He is only put down with a stake through the heart. A true blood sucking vampire monopolist oligarch. May his veins clog with the venom he spews. He should choke on his lies. A true criminal who should have been aborted after birth.
Cheers,
Angry Nog