In the following days, the public opinion storm caused by the wiretapping incident intensified.

Murdoch’s media empire, which he spent his whole life building, is crumbling amid the criticism.

To the British and American countries and their people who love human rights and advocate freedom, what News Corporation has done is more disgusting than letting them eat a dead fly.

If every media company in the UK, the United States and other countries behaves like News Corporation, then the "pure, independent, objective and fair" news image created by Western propaganda will collapse.

The thing that makes them most uncomfortable is that Murdoch just did it, but why didn't he cover it up? He was also found out! How can we still be human beacons in the future? How can we show off our superiority in front of third world countries? Promote our universal values?

 The British and American people and relevant stakeholders now hate Murdoch and News Corporation.

Murdoch was actually feeling miserable because he didn't know that the people below him were so unreliable.

Within a few days, there was one more thing that made Murdoch more miserable and more difficult.

The day before he formally accepted the inquiry from the British Parliament, Sean Hall, a key figure who came forward to expose the inside story of the wiretapping scandal, was suddenly found dead at home.

This person was not a big shot, just a British paparazzi, but his death was like a bomb dropped, completely detonating the already boiling British public opinion, and various rumors began to fly all over the sky.

Some people say that he was silenced in order to prevent this big mouth from breaking more powerful information after Murdoch accepted the hearing.

If this "whistleblower" is not dealt with in advance and waits until he comes out later and accuses Murdoch of lying at the hearing, then it will be a heavy blow to News Corporation, which is already in the quagmire, and it may be the last one that breaks the camel's back. Straw.

In addition, Sean Hall’s explosive revelations also pointed to a big shot, the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron.

 Having offended so many big people, Sean Hall could only "commit suicide".

Similar conspiracy theories are very popular among British netizens, as evidenced by the large number of discussions on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

As for the preliminary investigation results given by the London police that "the possibility of suicide has not been ruled out" and "no suspicious signs have been found for the time being", it seems a bit unconvincing, and it has further deepened the suspicion of netizens.

You must know that the news broke by Sean Hall has already brought down several high-ranking police officials, including the chief and assistant chief of the London Police Department. No one quite believes that there is nothing fishy here.

 …

Amid the scoldings of netizens, the doubts of shareholders, and the silence of political friends, Murdoch ushered in his day of judgment - the "Daily Mail".

 At 2:30 pm local time on July 19, the hearing was held on time in the British House of Commons.

 Murdoch, accompanied by his second son James and his wife Wendi Deng, arrived at the venue by car.

As soon as the group got out of the car, they saw countless protesters blocking the entrance to the House of Commons. They held the sign high, stared at Murdoch with angry faces, and vomited all kinds of sweet things from their mouths.

 “Fake Squid, the eavesdropper should go to **** as soon as possible!”

 “You’re not welcome in London, country bumpkin, go back to your Australia.”

 “Murderer, it was you who killed little Millie.”

 …

The demonstrators at the scene were very excited, and they rushed forward with bared teeth and claws, which was similar to the scene of zombies coming out of the cage. If it weren't for the big and round policeman who used his body to create a safety wall, I am afraid that Murdoch would have been furious at this moment. The crowd was trampled to death.

Seeing such a lively scene, even though Murdoch had been in the world for a long time, he could not help but feel guilty, and his bladder felt a little bit painful. He had just been cured of prostate cancer and seemed to be going through another test.

Under tight security, Murdoch and his party eliminated interference and successfully entered the large conference hall where the hearing was held.

 The conference hall is not large in area, but the layout is very compact.

Sitting at the top is a group of MPs. Their seats are arranged in a semicircle. Everyone sitting on them can look directly at the Murdochs and his son and cross-examine them.

As for the Murdochs, the Murdochs and the lawyers who accompanied them to the meeting, they were sitting at a horizontal table at the bottom, feeling as if they were being interrogated in front of the hall. The audience seat is located on the left side. The audience can observe and listen to the exciting exchanges and conversations between the MPs and Murdoch from the side.

 Soon, the hearing was held in a solemn atmosphere.

 The congressmen began to ask questions, and James was the first to be attacked.

When asked whether he knew about the wiretapping and when he knew about it, James denied it three times, saying that he knew nothing.

 By the time I knew it, it was already the time when the news broke, which was about the same time as the public got the news.

James went on to say that after learning about the incident, he immediately issued handling opinions, asking his subordinates to act as quickly as possible and to make the process as transparent as possible...

The congressmen thought that James was younger and would not be so well-spoken, but they did not expect that he would be so difficult to deal with.

They thought about it and realized that the other party must have reviewed the lines with the lawyer beforehand, and they would not be able to verbally reveal any flaws.

There was no breakthrough from James, and the congressmen were a little dissatisfied. They were about to turn their attention to the old Murdoch to see if the eighty-year-old media tycoon's head was still as bright as before. Suddenly on the court Something happened.

 Old Murdoch took the initiative to interrupt his son's speech and kept mumbling: "I want to say something. This is the most humble day in my life..."

Old Murdoch kept repeating the word "humble" in his mouth, as if he was blabbering, as if he was demented. Combined with his old wrinkled face, he looked a bit pitiful.

The Madonna of Bai Zuo who participated in the audience was kind-hearted and could not see an old man over eighty years old showing such weakness and embarrassment. Some people actually began to show sympathy in their eyes.

What is even more paradoxical is that not only the audience is so "fickle", but even some members of Congress are not as aggressive as before.

They changed the subject of questioning to Murdoch Sr., and asked Murdoch Sr. in a gentle tone whether he knew about the relevant events. Murdoch Sr. reacted like his son and said "No" several times.

 Murdoch Sr. has repeatedly emphasized that "News of the World" is only 1% of News Corporation's properties. News Corporation employs about 53,000 people around the world. As the boss, it is impossible for him to know everything about everyone. He hopes the police will launch a more detailed investigation into the incident.

At the same time, the elder Murdoch also publicly responded to another criminal case, saying that he was shocked and ashamed to hear that the "News of the World" wiretapped British murder victim Millie just two weeks ago.

But when it came to questions about "News of the World" employees being accused of bribing the police with money in exchange for information in 2003, and being suspected of eavesdropping on the phone calls of victims of the "911" terrorist attacks in the United States, Murdoch said he knew nothing and dismissed them all. net.

I don’t know whether it was because the Tai Chi push was too comfortable, or whether he was pretending to be stupid and was too stunned. When Murdoch was asked whether he would take responsibility for the eavesdropping scandal, Murdoch said firmly "No".

At this moment, Murdoch's shrewd image is vividly displayed, without any trace of confusion or remorse.

The audience immediately burst into boos.

No one expected that Murdoch would be so stubborn and irresponsible. He did not want to take even the slightest responsibility. He clearly put all the responsibilities on "temporary workers".

Although the audience is not ashamed, in fact, from Murdoch's perspective, it is necessary to maintain a tough attitude. Otherwise, News Corporation is likely to be smeared and used by other media, especially some competitors, to exploit the situation.

Just when the audience was surprised by Murdoch Sr.'s shamelessness, something even more surprising happened.

A man sitting in the audience suddenly stood up and rushed towards old Murdoch with a lunge.

Because the man's movements were too fast and violent, no one at the scene reacted at all. Everyone was stunned on the spot, watching helplessly as the man rushed to the old Murdoch and took out a plate of paste with lightning speed. Something was thrown at the old man, whose face was already filled with panic.

At this critical moment, Wendi Deng, who had been sitting with her legs crossed and sitting behind Murdoch, was the first to react, and her whole body jumped up like a spring.

Then, like a lioness, she jumped over the two people and slapped the attacker hard in the face.

This slap was so powerful that the attacker was knocked down on the spot and then dragged out by security guards.

After such an episode, the conference hall was in chaos. Many people didn't even understand what happened and were in a state of confusion. But Wendi Deng's bodyguard's slap was seen by everyone. , and firmly remembered the name of this Chinese woman Wendimurdoch.

 (End of this chapter)