The Murdoch Shell Game: Why is the “Conservative” Media Giant Glorifying Debauchery? OP-ED

News Corp. Founder/Owner, Rupert Murdoch as a “Hot Wife”. Credit: Volodymyr – stock.adobe.com and Eva Rinaldi

By: Adam Reuter

There’s a distinct stench that emanates from a media empire that tries to play both sides of a moral war. For decades, the Murdoch family–the billionaire architects behind Fox News—has positioned itself as the last line of defense for the “silent majority.” They wrap themselves in the flag, preach the sanctity of the nuclear family, and rail against the progressive “woke” mob.

But if you want to understand their true agenda, don’t look at what their talking heads say on TV. Look at what they’re pushing on their digital platforms, where clicks are the ultimate currency and principles are bad for business.

Specifically, look at the recent garbage published by The New York Post—the Murdochs’ favorite street-fighting tabloid. Last week, they didn’t just report on a “trend”; they ran a seductive, visual advertisement for “hotwifing.”

The Breakdown: What the Hell is ‘Hotwifing’?

Let me break this down into its raw, unvarnished pieces for anyone lucky enough to be unfamiliar with the term. “Hotwifing” is a sanitized, consumer-friendly word for a specific brand of consensual non-monogamy. It’s a setup where a husband encourages his wife to have sex with other men while he watches, or at least waits in the wings, for the betterment of their holy matrimony—or so the argument goes. The Post didn’t frame this as a fringe lifestyle or a symptom of a fractured culture. No, they called it a “sexy new trend” that is “strengthening marriages across the country.”

The Financial Incentive: Profit Over Principle, Revealed Click by Hypocritical Click

Why would a supposedly conservative news outlet publish this? It’s not a mistake or a single rogue editor. It’s a cold, calculated business maneuver, born from the simple truth that, at News Corp, principles walk when profit talks. Which is why I have chosen to not link to the article directly.

The Murdochs are not in the business of defending values. They are in the business of capturing eyeballs and selling them to the highest bidder. Digital advertising is the new lifeblood, and it demands constantly growing numbers. And what drives numbers better than almost anything else? Scandal, outrage, and primal instincts. They have analyzed the data and concluded that a piece on “hotwifing” will generate exponentially more traffic than a piece on, say, local Baltimore tax policy.

Here’s how the shell game works:

1. Capture the Left: Progressive readers click out of a mix of validation for alternative lifestyles and a voyeuristic desire to see “conservative” media fall from grace. They will share it to prove “how even conservatives are coming around.”
   
2. Capture the Right (with Ragebait): They know their core conservative audience will click it to confirm their worst fears about the moral decay of society. These readers will then share the link to scream about the moral collapse of “holy matrimony.”

Every single click—regardless of the reader’s intent—generates an ad impression. News Corp is earning money by deliberately packaging and selling the very “cultural rot” that they claim to oppose. Their bottom line doesn’t care if the click is from a progressive celebrating freedom or a conservative decrying sin. The check from the advertiser clears all the same. They are, in essence, winking at the progressive audience, while stealing a click from the conservative one, all while their bank accounts swell. They are selling out your values to fuel their profit growth, and they think you’re too stupid to notice.

The Seductive Lie: A Visual Fantasy of a Messy Reality

And let’s be absolutely clear about the image they used to illustrate this piece:

They did not show a picture of the likely reality of polyamory–which can often be messy, unglamorous, and physically unphotogenic, populated by people who aren’t exactly getting booked by fashion magazines. Instead, they showed you a perfect fantasy–a picture-perfect, idealized threesome of model-quality people, presented as a desirable, glossy reality.

This choice is a calculated lie, visual manipulation designed to sanitize the content and maximize its allure. By illustrating “hotwifing” with a picture of a flawless threesome, they are creating a consumer-friendly fantasy that softens the blow of the content while maximizing its seductive power. They’re not just selling the lifestyle; they’re selling a visually enticing lie about it.

Question the Agenda

This is the foundational rot of corporate media. News Corp is a multinational conglomerate with zero local allegiances and zero unwavering principles. Their only god is shareholder value. They will defend the family on Tuesday to keep your eyes on the screen and then they’ll glorify the “hotwife” with a beautiful fantasy image on Wednesday to make sure their digital numbers hit their quarterly targets. They are winking at progressives, while stealing a click from you, all while their profit grows.

We must stop being pawns in the Murdochs’ money-making scheme. We must refuse to be ragebaited, refuse to click their salacious lies and refuse to let them profit from the very moral decay they pretend to oppose. They care about their clicks. They care about their bottom line. They do not care about you, your city, or your values. The Murdochs only care about the metrics.