Donald Trump. File

Ever scathing about mainstream US print media, Donald Trump owes his 2016 election to cable television’s Fox News, founded in 1996 by Australian-US citizen Rupert Murdoch to broadcast conservative messages to the US and the globe. Last year, Fox News was the world’s most viewed cable network and had 90 million US household subscribers. While denying bias, Fox News’ coverage is slanted toward the Republican Party and conservative politicians and causes. Fox increases the party’s vote and deepens the partisanship of its politicians.   

Having adopted Trump for his 2016 run for the White House, Fox News has, during his residence there, served as his mouthpiece. Nevertheless, Trump fell out with Fox when it announced that this year’s Democrat challenger for the presidency Joe Biden won Arizona before votes were fully counted. Trump now relies on more radical right channels to give him the uncritical support he craves although Fox remains his mainstay. 

Murdoch set up Fox after establishing successful cable television channels Sky and SkyB in Britain and Sky Australia and acquiring scores of local, national and international outlets in his home country Australia as well as Britain and the US. He owns The Australian and Daily Telegraph in Australia; The Sun and The Times in the UK; and The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post in the US and book publisher HarperCollins.

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His domination of both television and print media makes him the most important media mogul of the 20th and 21st centuries and enables him to promulgate misinformation, conservative and right-wing propaganda, and false news. Murdock has not only backed Trump but has also campaigned against efforts to halt climate change and promoted Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. He secured the repeal of the carbon tax in Australia, a measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He gave former US President George W. Bush full backing in his disastrous 2003 war on Iraq, launching a process which has destabilised the region.   

Murdoch is neither the first media baron nor the last to become a major opinion maker but he is, almost certainly, among the most important. Other media barons of the 20th century include the UK’s Robert Maxwell, Germany’s Axel Springer, Canada’s Conrad Black, and the US’ Ted Turner (founder of CNN) but none has matched Murdoch’s political clout.

Murdoch’s grip on the media and huge influence in Australia, Britain and the US has prompted

two former Australian prime ministers, Labourite Kevin Rudd and conservative Malcolm Turnbull, to put forward a petition calling for a royal commission to investigate Murdoch’s empire. When launching this petition last month, Rudd called Murdoch “a cancer — an arrogant cancer on our democracy” and pointed out that it is essential to “maximise diversity ownership [of media] for the future lifeblood of our democratic system,” referring to Australia. Although that country’s political parties have refused to sponsor the petition, it has garnered half a million signatures. Murdoch media responded with negative reportage and smears against Rudd.

Murdoch is not the first media mogul to have an impact on the politics of the countries hosting his influential outlets. Mass media gained importance during the early years of the 20th century due to technological advances which have made newspapers affordable to all sectors of society and most households. Politicians cultivated press barons as they became influential with the public.

In Britain Canada-born Lord Beaverbrook owned the widely-circulated Daily Express, Daily Standard and Sunday Express. He used them to mobilise popular support for World War II but after the war he remained loyal to the Empire and opposed Britain’s decision to join the European Economic Community (which became the European Union). 

In the US, William Randolph Hearst formed the country’s largest newspaper chain which promoted unresearched, sensationalist stories (“yellow journalism”) and adopted aggressive political positions. After World War I he also adopted reactionary views and urged isolationism. 

Neither of these barons achieved the global reach or influence of Murdoch. He was fortunate to launch his career on the cusp of the internet revolution. The “Fox effect” has been magnified by social media which adds a personal dimension to reporting and commenting on news. Facebook, Twitter and other platforms provide politicians with direct connections to their constituents and vice-versa. Both sides enjoy an intimacy which is not present in newspapers or on television or radio. These platforms also allow anyone to report or comment without fear of being held accountable, disproven, or even ridiculed. They enjoy freedoms not accorded to professional journalists who are responsible for their writings and in some countries held accountable by press bureaux.

Therefore, Trump has a wide range of instruments to orchestrate his views and appeal to his growing “base” of supporters: Fox, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram and other social media. In 2016, Trump garnered almost 63 million votes against Democrat Hillary Clinton’s nearly 66 million. He won 304 Electoral College votes, Clinton 227. In 2020, Trump took 73.8 million votes in comparison with Democrat candidate Joe Biden’s 79.8. Therefore, Trump increased the number of his voters by more than 10 million. 

Fox and social media encourage Trump to stage mass rallies and muster armed civilians. During the first presidential debate with Biden, Trump called on the Proud Boys, a far right extremist group, to “stand back and stand by, but I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about antifa [the anti-fascist movement] and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem. This is a left-wing problem.” This is a lie as left-wingers do not go to protests and rallies armed with weapons of war.

The Proud Boys replied, proudly, “Standing down and standing by, Sir,” to their commander-in-chief. Trump is the first US president in recent history to be able to issue such an order to radical civilian group. The Anti-Defamation League, a non-governmental body that tracks extremist groups, describes the Proud Boy as a violent, Islamophobic, White supremacist, hate group. 

Murdoch has played a key role in the empowerment of the right in the US and in deepening existing US political, cultural, and social divisions. Now that the djin of dissonance is out of the bottle, taming and reining it in will be extremely difficult.

Having adopted Donald Trump for his 2016 run for the White House, Fox News has, during his residence there, served as his mouthpiece.