former US President Barack Obama have argued that Rupert Murdoch’s media empire has led to a greater polarization of Western societies, emphasizing that their news coverage is meant to “piss people off and outrage them”.

Speaking to an audience of about 9,000 at Sydney’s Aware Super Theater on Tuesday night, Obama evoked childhood memories of moving out of Australia as a child with poignant observations about today’s political debate and the rise of China.

Asked by former Australian Foreign Secretary and moderator Julie Bishop about the history of bipartisanship in the US political system, Obama spoke about the predominantly male and “white” Senate when he was elected in 2004 and the divisions that have persisted since.

“But here is good news for the US. We are not as polarized as we seem. 60-65% of the country, say 70%, is actually occupied by the real world,” Obama said, laughing. “And that’s true of Republicans as well.”

“There is another factor that has led to this polarization. It’s global, it’s not just in the United States, and it’s media change and the story being told to the people. And there’s a guy you might know named Rupert who was in charge of a lot of this… But he actually perfected a broader trend, which was the advent of cable television. [τηλεόρασης]radio and then social media,” the former US president added.

Obama has complained about people who read or watch media they believe they are ideologically connected to, including the progressive side.

“Now it’s the wild west and the split in the media. And if all you do is that in America it’s Fox News, here I think it’s Sky, whatever, if all you do is watch the source of the news, and by the way, in America you see progressives who say: “So, we will have our own news and our own point of view,” he stressed.

Source: Guardian