News Corp Australia's executive chair has robustly defended the company's practice of featuring climate science sceptics, telling a parliamentary inquiry that publishing 'an opinion someone disagrees with is not misinformation'.
Confrontation Over Climate Denial Platforming
Michael Miller faced intense questioning from Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson during the Senate inquiry into climate and energy misinformation. The senator directly challenged News Corp's editorial decisions, asking 'why do you platform climate sceptics' and asserting the company relies heavily on opinion pieces from climate deniers.
Miller responded defensively, questioning whether the senator was suggesting censorship. 'This country has a great democracy and healthy debate', Miller stated, adding that people with differing opinions should still have a voice even if others disagree with their views.
Rejecting the 'Denial Machine' Label
When confronted with submissions describing News Corp as part of a coordinated 'climate denial machine' involving PR companies and thinktanks, Miller offered a stark rebuttal. 'No. We are part of a debate machine maybe, but not a denial machine', he told the inquiry.
The executive chair faced particular scrutiny over analysis from Climate Action Against Disinformation, which claimed readers of certain News Corp publications were more likely to accept climate misinformation than those consuming other media outlets.
Another submission from Climate Communications Australia identified News Corp outlets including The Australian and Sky News Australia as containing the highest degree of misinformation among 22 major online news sources analysed.
Bushfire Coverage and Internal Dissent
The inquiry also examined News Corp's controversial coverage of the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires. Miller defended the company's reporting, revealing that of 3,335 bushfire stories published across News Corp outlets, only 12% mentioned climate change while 5% discussed arson.
This approach had previously sparked internal criticism, with commercial finance manager Emily Townsend sending an all-staff email accusing the company of spreading climate change denial and lies. Miller rejected her claims during his testimony.
The executive also addressed James Murdoch's 2020 resignation from the News Corp board, which was reportedly driven by frustrations about the company's climate coverage. Miller suggested Murdoch might have been influenced by social media rather than directly reading News Corp titles.
Throughout the hearing, Miller maintained there was no coordination across News Corp outlets to feature specific voices, with each masthead making independent editorial decisions about which opinions to platform.
