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26 May, 9 tweets, 5 min read
Two critical events took place this week. Both are serious challenges for Australia's democracy.

A thread about Murdoch's @newscorpaus & his deal with @google & @YouTube.
Event 1) Murdoch's SkyNews posted a short, factual clip from its morning news broadcast, lasting only 40 seconds. It reported on UK activist, Sasha Johnson, who is in intensive care after being shot in the head.

ABC reporting:
abc.net.au/news/2021-05-2…
What followed was chilling. The clip rocketed up YouTube's algorithm, topping 200,000 views & 9,000 comments.

The most popular comments, boosted by the algorithm, were disgusting. Praising the shooter. Mocking the victim. Calling for more violence.

theguardian.com/media/2021/may…
Here are 3 unedited screenshots. These were presented as 'top comments' by YouTube to boost engagement.

This is not normal.
Murdoch's SkyNews presenters have spent their nightly shows cultivating this base. They are arming supporters with hatred and the desire for retribution against the enemy: 'cultural Marxists' and 'the radical left'.
Google can’t just wash its hands when it comes to far-right radicalisation through Murdoch’s SkyNews. They’ve signed a bespoke digital distribution deal with Murdoch to push their videos out to their users.

businessinsider.com.au/sky-news-austr…
Event 2) Sky News Australia cleared 1 BILLION channel views.

This includes 100 MILLION views in the last 30 days.
Lachlan Murdoch & @newscorpaus are playing a dangerous game with extremist politics.

It's a media empire with a base they can't control.

That's why we need a #MurdochRoyalCommission.
My letter to @Google and @newscorpaus, demanding answers.

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More from @MrKRudd

Kevin Rudd Profile picture
19 Feb
This is a dead-set lie by Murdoch’s CEO, Michael Miller, telling senators that I “proactively approached” them to write an article on China last Saturday. Nothing in that statement is true.

Here are the facts... THREAD /1
On February 5, the US magazine @ForeignAffairs published a lengthy essay I had written entitled “Short of War: How to Keep US-Chinese Confrontation from Ending in Calamity”. You can read it here: foreignaffairs.com/articles/unite… /2
On February 9, I sent the essay to literally hundreds of folks in the global policy community for their thoughts & feedback. One of them was Alan Howe, a journalist I’ve known for many years, who’s now at The Australian. We don’t agree on everything but I do value his opinion. /3
Read 6 tweets
Kevin Rudd Profile picture
23 Dec 20
The Morrison Government pretends that it cares about the mismanagement of public money, but everywhere you turn you see them splurging on waste and pet projects while cutting services for those in need. Let me share one recent personal experience.
15 months ago, in Sept 2019, I wrote to the Morrison Govt to ask about the new Foreign Influence Transparency Register, which is designed to catch foreign agents trying to influence our politics. It affects everyone, but the rules are tighter for former ministers, as they should.
I have been a supporter of this Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme (FITS) legislation from the beginning, because it's important to keep tabs on actual agents of foreign government influence who are trying to affect Australian politics. It's a good and worthy objective.
Read 19 tweets
Kevin Rudd Profile picture
4 Dec 20
We see #MurdochsPetitionPanic becoming even more frantic. They appear to be settling on a strategy — personally smear anyone who supports a Royal Commission, rather than face reality of Murdoch’s toxic brand after a decade of abusing monopoly power. Anything to avoid scrutiny. Image
Something new to #MurdochsPetitionPanic is the broadening of the campaign by co-opting other media. Audio from Thursday’s festival of whinging Murdoch editors was leaked to Fairfax as a warning to others they too will be smeared for publicly backing a #MurdochRoyalCommission. Image
These kinds of character assassinations are a huge part of Murdoch’s strategy for seeing off threats to his business interests. How many people have been smeared on the front pages for daring to question the validity of Murdoch’s monopoly? Murdoch rules by a climate of fear.
Read 6 tweets
Kevin Rudd Profile picture
3 Dec 20
Is anybody else getting a whiff of #MurdochsPetitionPanic? A special meeting of Murdoch editors to spell out their strategy to avoid answering for their conduct before a Royal Commission. smh.com.au/business/compa…
Straight from the Murdoch playbook: they know they can’t win the argument, so they frame it around a couple of individuals and try to demolish them personally. But this isn’t about me or Turnbull — it’s about Australians demanding fairness, accuracy and diversity in their news.
If Murdoch’s editors have nothing to be ashamed of, why are they so afraid of a Royal Commission? Honestly, you’d think we were asking for their firstborn children the way they are so frantically overreacting. #MurdochsPetitionPanic #MurdochRoyalCommission
Read 4 tweets
Kevin Rudd Profile picture
28 Nov 20
Morrison's Govt awash in corruption, but what does Murdoch put on page 1? Surprise, surprise. Another character assassination attempt based on selective, twisted accounts of me seeking fairer coverage for Labor 15yrs ago. Anything to avoid the substance of #MurdochRoyalCommission
The Murdoch media were bad in 2007, but after 2010 they became an extreme far-right operation. Ask the many professional journos who’ve since quit News Corp. Ask Rupert's son, James, who spectacularly resigned over the "hidden agendas", "disinformation" and climate change denial.
As I've already stated publicly, I make no apology for seeing Murdoch and his editors to lessen their anti-Labor bias in 2007. I can only assume we'll get his other editors to do their own "tell all" stories of meetings with me. Do your worst, Rupert.
Read 8 tweets
Kevin Rudd Profile picture
29 Oct 20
As Chair of the IPI Board for the last two years, the Board is unanimous that all questions about the IPI's integrity should be asked and thoroughly answered. These matters are serious and they deserve scrutiny. My full statement to the media is here: kevinrudd.com/wp-content/upl…
I've now done six broadcast interviews today about events at IPI and the recommendations I'm taking to the Board to obtain answers to the remaining questions about the institution’s fundraising. These build on the steps the Board has taken over the last year.
As for Murdoch's page-one "exclusive", it wasn't exclusive at all. The donations in question were reported last year. IPI also posted to its official website making public the Board's commitment to donate an equal sum to support victims of sexual violence: ipinst.org/wp-content/upl…
Read 6 tweets

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