Anti-Extinction Rebellion protesters smashed the windows of the London headquarters of Rupert Murdoch’s media company in protest at its publications’ coverage of the climate crisis.
Activists targeted the News UK building next to London Bridge station early on Tuesday morning, destroying glass panels and placing placards reading “tell the truth” and “40 degrees = death” next to the entrance used by journalists at the Sun and Times.
Extinction Rebellion said it was taking non-violent action to highlight the way record heatwaves in the UK are being treated as an optimistic story in some media.
A spokesman said: “Instead of warning readers about the increased risks of such heatwaves as the climate crisis intensifies, the Sun has chosen to cover its front pages with images of women in bikinis on beaches and happy toddlers with ice creams.”
They also criticized Monday’s front-page headline in the Daily Express, owned by rival newspaper publisher Reach. It included the words “This is not the end of the world! Just keep your cool and carry on…” over a photo of the union flag.
Anti-Extinction Rebellion protesters have previously held protest marches outside the News UK building. In 2020, they also successfully blocked printing presses used by Murdoch’s News UK and other newspapers, cutting off the distribution of titles such as the Times and Sun.
Some News UK journalists have indicated that they regularly cover the extent to which the climate is changing due to human influence, including in front-page articles in recent weeks.
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Climate change is a contentious topic in Rupert Murdoch’s family, with his son James issuing a strongly worded statement in 2020 criticizing the “continued denial” among the company’s Australian outlets about the impact of climate change.
Murdoch’s other global media interests have taken more decidedly skeptical positions on the climate crisis. These include Fox News in the US, as well as Sky News Australia and numerous newspapers in his home country.
On the hottest day in UK history, Extinction Rebellion protesters paint slogans on the walls of News UK. Photo: Denise Laura Baker
Caspar Hughes, one of the protesters against Extinction Rebellion, blamed the power of a small group of right-wing newspaper owners over British climate policy: “The biggest problem stopping government, business and civil society from responding sensibly to climate and environmental crises, is owned by the billionaire media. If Murdoch, Rothermere and Daker supported a net zero policy, the rest of us would follow suit.
“Right now, they are key destroyers of what little hope we have left to secure a safe, secure future for ourselves and our children.” It is long past time for them to use their power as we try to stop the collapse of our civilization in the coming decades.
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