My latest interview for @BylineTimes@KerryKatona7 bravely talks of the horrific scale of press abuse, criminality, hacking and intrusion she suffered at the hands of the tabloids and the effect on her life and personal relationships.
Facing down the bullies 👊
Our friends at @BylineTimes Kerry Katona opens up about decades of press abuse: hacked phones, invasive cameras, and constant exploitation by tabloids that pushed her to the brink. Growing up in foster care and thrust into fame at 18, she was relentlessly targeted due to her gender, working-class background, and struggles with addiction. Comparing her experience to an 'abusive relationship,' she describes the trauma as 'violating' and 'dirty,' revealing how tabloids even planted cameras in her bathroom. Her story highlights systemic press double standards and the urgent need for accountability. #PressAbuse #BylineTimes #MediaReform
Kerry Katona reveals the devastating toll of decades of press abuse, comparing it to an 'abusive relationship.' Hacked phones, invasive cameras, and relentless harassment exploited her struggles for profit—leaving her angry, traumatised, and suicidal. Despite seeking justice, she highlights the failure of press complaints systems and the double standards targeting women, particularly those from working-class backgrounds. Her experience underscores the urgent need for press accountability and reform.
Full story: https://t.co/kj7jPt1jyc…
#PressAbuse #MentalHealth #HackedOff
Just like our politicians today Fox News dodges discussing the phone hacking scandal—no surprise when the network's owner, Rupert Murdoch, is at the centre of it. When press accountability is needed most, silence speaks volumes. #PhoneHacking#MediaBias#PressAbuse
As we have suggested on When It Hits the Fan it seems very likely to me that editors and media chiefs took hampers from Fayed and maybe favours too. He tried to give a huge Harrods hamper to me as editor of The Sun and I was ordered by Les Hinton to send it back. Did others?
Tulisa has revealed on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! the full extent of being targeted by disgraced journalist Mazher Mahmood, aka the "Fake Sheikh." Mahmood, now a convicted criminal, built his career on elaborate stings that often blurred or outright broke legal and ethical boundaries.
In 2013, Mahmood posed as a Hollywood producer and lured Tulisa into a setup that led to her arrest on drug charges. But the case collapsed after it was revealed he had tampered with evidence. His driver admitted removing Tulisa’s anti-drug comments from a police statement—at Mahmood’s instruction.
Tulisa isn’t alone. Up to 18 others tried suing Mahmood, claiming their lives were destroyed by his false evidence, with damages estimated at £800 million. Many spent time in prison or lost their livelihoods due to his deceitful stings.
Speaking about her ordeal, Tulisa joins a growing chorus exposing Mahmood’s unethical practices and a system that allowed him to act as an unregulated force. Her story sheds new light on the devastating impact of his actions.
The "Fake Sheikh" legacy is one of scandal and destruction, and Tulisa’s revelations on I’m a Celeb bring this dark chapter back into focus.
#ImACeleb #FakeSheikh #Tulisa #PressEthics
Glad Piers's inflexible morals and unbending character made sure he didn't even think of listening to voicemails.
Must have been all those other pesky Journalists.
Lord Leveson, calmly dissecting the issue of unauthorised voicemail access, presses Piers Morgan on the legality of listening to private messages. The Leveson Inquiry, launched to uncover the truth behind the phone-hacking scandal that implicated British tabloids, saw Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) defending his time as an editor.
Leveson suggests calling Lady McCartney to settle it: "Did you authorise Mr. Morgan to listen to your voicemail?"
Lady McCartney is called: "Never, ever."
"Have you ever played or authorised him to hear any recording of your voicemails?"
"Never."
In that moment, the defence crumbles, exposing the unethical practices at the heart of tabloid journalism.
#LevesonInquiry #PhoneHacking
We at Hacked Off are calling for Leveson Part Two. 📷 Over a decade ago, lies turned into a tangled web of corruption: 'one rogue reporter' became an entire industry crisis, implicating newspapers, police, and even politicians. The Leveson Inquiry was split, and Part One exposed a culture of hacking, bribery, and data theft. But Part Two — the investigation into who orchestrated, ignored, and enabled this — was never completed. It’s time to uncover the full truth. Join us in demanding accountability. #Leveson2 #HackedOff #HughGrant #PressAccountability"
📷 Donald Trump has won the 2024 U.S. presidential race. But behind his victory is a complex and deeply concerning story about the relationships between billionaires, media power and presidency: Rupert Murdoch’s fall, Elon Musk’s rise, and a new era of influence over democracy. Let’s dive in. 📷
For years, Rupert Murdoch and his media empire were essential to Trump’s political success. Yet, by 2023, Murdoch had grown to loathe Trump, wishing for his downfall. Michael Wolff described Murdoch as a ‘frothing-at-the-mouth’ Trump critic. Despite this, Murdoch’s Fox News couldn’t fully extricate itself from Trump. Facing a viewership crisis, Fox leaned into Trumpist narratives, amplifying election fraud claims that led to a $787.5M defamation payout to Dominion voter systems. Desperate to reclaim viewers lost to even more extreme networks like Newsmax, Fox doubled down on Trumpist narratives, despite Murdoch’s personal disdain for Trump. But Murdoch’s efforts to find an alternative, like Ron DeSantis, ultimately failed.
By late 2024, Murdoch still wielded significant influence. In October, Trump publicly pressured him to suppress “negative commercials” on Fox News, saying he’d ask Murdoch directly to aid his campaign by keeping “horrible people” off the air. This plea from Trump underscores their complicated relationship. Murdoch once reportedly said he wanted to make Trump ‘a non-person’ after the January 6 Capitol attack. Yet, the power dynamics remained: Trump knew he needed Fox, and Murdoch couldn’t completely distance himself.
As Murdoch’s control over the narrative weakened, a new force filled the vacuum: Elon Musk. Musk’s transformation from a “moderate Democrat” to a staunch Trump ally became one of the most significant media shifts of the campaign.
Musk acquired Twitter (now X) for $44B and turned it into a megaphone for Trump. He lifted Trump’s ban, posted over 100 tweets daily leading up to the election, and spread an AI-generated deep fake attacking Kamala Harris. X became a battleground with Elon beginning to directly contradict his own fact checking service Community Notes. Despite branding himself a “free speech absolutist,” Musk allegedly suppressed content that harmed Trump. X reportedly blocked a story on hacked dossiers concerning VP candidate JD Vance, suspended journalist Ken Klippenstein, and boosted Musk's own tweets to reach nearly a billion views on election day.
Musk didn’t just dominate social media; he bankrolled Trump’s campaign. He helped fund a $100M contribution to America PAC funded voter turnout efforts, and he even bussed Amish voters to polling stations. His influence extended deep into the heart of Trump’s ground game.
Beyond financial support, Musk appears to have secured a role in Trump’s administration. As head of the new “Department of Government Efficiency” (Doge), he reportedly plans to cut federal regulations, many of which oversee his companies, like SpaceX, Tesla, and Neuralink. Critics argue Musk’s deregulation plans are self-serving. His companies face scrutiny from the FAA, EPA, and SEC. Deregulating these agencies could boost his profits, yet Musk insists his cuts would be “humane,” likening them to reducing “refs” in a game.
Musk’s alliance with Trump isn’t just about business; it’s ideological. He rails against the “woke mind virus,” spreads anti-trans and anti-immigration rhetoric, and even vowed to counter liberal philanthropist George Soros by influencing down-ballot races. Murdoch, meanwhile, remains a reluctant player in Trump’s circle. Even as Murdoch criticised Trump and supported alternatives like DeSantis, he couldn’t ignore Trump’s pull over the Republican base. Fox News is still key to Trump’s media strategy.
The election has shown that media billionaires like Musk and Murdoch have reshaped American democracy. From X's unchecked disinformation to Murdoch’s enduring influence, their roles highlight the urgent need for media accountability and regulation. At Hacked Off, we’re committed to fighting for a fair and transparent media landscape. Billionaire power over public discourse undermines democracy. Join us in demanding accountability. #PressFreedom #MediaReform
Bushard, Brian. "Here’s A Timeline Of Billionaire Network Chair’s Roller-Coaster Relationship With Trump." Forbes, September 21, 2023.
Tiffen, Rodney. "How Rupert Murdoch Helped Create a Monster – The Era of Trumpism – and Then Lost Control of It." The Conversation, August 11, 2024.
Pengelly, Martin. "Rupert Murdoch Often Wishes Donald Trump Dead, Michael Wolff Book Says." The Guardian, September 20, 2023.
Warnes, William. "From Critic to Staunch Ally: How Musk’s Relationship with Trump Has Evolved." Yahoo News, November 6, 2024.
Fedor, Lauren, and Anna Nicolaou. "Donald Trump Tells Rupert Murdoch to Help Him Secure US Election ‘Victory’." Financial Times, October 18, 2024.
Morris, Stephen, and Hannah Murphy. "Elon Musk’s Gamble on Donald Trump Pays Off." Financial Times, November 6, 2024.
Klippenstein, Ken. "Twitter Banned Me: I Was Banned After Publishing the JD Vance Dossier." September 26, 2024.
Swenson, Ali. "A Parody Ad Shared by Elon Musk Clones Kamala Harris’ Voice, Raising Concerns About AI in Politics." AP News, July 29, 2024.
Silverman, Jacob. “Musk of the Spheres: Elon’s Doomed-to-Succeed Twitter Buy.” The Baffler, no. 64 (2022): 54–58. https://t.co/BIl1Z5gvEu.
"Judge Clears Elon Musk’s America PAC’s ‘Million-Dollar Giveaway’—‘This Is Not Vote-Buying!’ Critics Slam Cash Incentives in Swing States as ‘Ethically Dubious’." The EconoTimes, November 5, 2024.
Davis, Wes. "X Blocked Hacked JD Vance Dossier Links After the Trump Campaign Flagged It: Elon Musk Heavily Criticized Twitter for Its Similar Choice to Stop the Spread of a Hunter Biden Story." The Verge, October 13, 2024