This week the Murdoch media empire appears to be seriously faltering, with News Corp having recently experienced a 64% decline in income in the quarter ending December 31 and announcing a 5% cut in its global workforce (staff reductions will cost 1259 people their jobs).

It has also encountered a $US1.6 billion ($AU2.4 billion) defamation lawsuit beginning in April against Fox News and parent company Fox Corp, over Fox’s coverage of the 2020 presidential election. Not to mention the vicious attack on Rupert Murdoch by ex-USA President Donald Trump, who accused him of “aiding & abetting the DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA” (Mr Trump’s capitalisation).

Trump was stirred to action following Fox Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch acknowledging under oath that some Fox hosts “endorsed” the notion that the 2020 US presidential election was stolen, whilst knowing that not to be true, according to court documents revealed in the US. Trump of course was most upset that Murdoch had denied the “stolen election” story had any basis in fact. Fake news? Sure is.

Mr Murdoch’s testimony is part of his deposition in the defamation lawsuit. Parts of it have remained sealed. Documents unsealed in Delaware State Court on show Mr Murdoch and other Fox executives believed President Joe Biden fairly beat Donald Trump and that the results were not in doubt, despite the repeated on-air protestations of Fox hosts.

Murdoch’s admission that his Fox hosts publicly broadcast and endorsed Trump’s lies, that the U.S. election result had been interfered with and rigged, while his organisation knew or believed that not be true, should be no surprise to Australians We regularly witness the Murdoch media misrepresentations, deceptions, misdirection, and outright falsehoods on any number of important issues, from climate change and the environment, to politics, economics, the Voice campaign – and on the ABC of course.

The mounting Murdoch financial and legal troubles come on top of the recent ineffectiveness of the “empire” in determining election results in Australia, both federally and state, where News Corp media operations railed against Labor and Teal campaigns, and applauded the Coalition parties, to no apparent effect.

Given the growing Australian distrust of News Corp, it isn’t all that surprising that the Murdoch ability to influence public opinion in this country is certainly on the wane.