21/11/2023
[ Today we are releasing the final report from the Murdoch Referendum Accountability Project: Under the Facade of Journalism.
Click here to read and download Under the Facade of Journalism – and then share it with your friends and family.
https://murdochroyalcommission.org.au/final-report/
The team who worked on this report, lead by Dr Victoria Fielding at the University of Adelaide, analysed an extraordinary 1600+ pieces of News Corp’s Voice coverage at the word specific level.
And the results are even more alarming than we anticipated.
95% of the arguments made by News Corp staff were in favour of the ‘No’ campaign.
News Corp published and broadcast a greater volume of opinion about the Voice than they did factual reporting, and the lines between fact and opinion were routinely blurred.
News Corp’s most frequently used ‘No’ arguments were aligned with those of the official No campaign.
News Corp routinely platformed anti-Voice mis- and disinformation from their own commentators and from external sources.
News Corp content, and in particular Sky News videos, played a unique and powerful role in legitimising more radical anti-Voice disinformation.
The findings in this report will strengthen our case for the ambitious reforms needed to repair our broken media landscape.
It shows that until we hold the Murdoch Press accountable and curb their influence, every initiative to make this country a better place will be vulnerable to sabotage.
Over the coming months, we’ll be doing everything we can to shine a light on these findings by raising public awareness, contacting the media regulators, and lobbying the Albanese Government, who are still reeling from the result.
To help spread the word, can you read and share the report? ]
This report analyses more than 1600+ pieces of News Corp's Voice coverage. The analysis shows that the Murdoch Press were not just biased against the Voice – they operated as part of the No campaign.
