Murdoch executive reveals he quit in disgust at Fox News’ ‘venomous, anti-immigration’ reporting during Trump era

Former executive says network's 'relationship with facts' worried him

A former senior executive at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has said he resigned due to Fox News’ support for “anti-immigrant, anti-refugee” rhetoric.

Joseph Azam told CNN’s Brian Stelter he noticed a “shift in ferociousness” in the run-up to the 2016 election of Donald Trump.

“I noticed a significant change in tone,” Mr Azam said.

“I was fine working with and for people who had different values and opinions than I did, but I noticed a significant shift in the ferociousness and, frankly, in the relationship with facts, particularly on the Fox side.”

He joined News Corp in 2015 and left the organisation two years ago.

“I think it became very profitable to fall in line with some of the anti-immigrant, anti-refugee, antisemitic, anti-Muslim rhetoric. I was affected by that,” he added.

Mr Stelter said he had heard other Fox employees complain of similar issues at the company.

“I wasn’t the only one who was troubled … by the dehumanisation that was taking place in some of the coverage and the opinion shows, by the other-ing that was taking place and frankly what I viewed as a lack of decency,” Mr Azam said, referring to his time working in New Corp’s legal department.

Mr Azam noted that he did not work for Fox specifically and did not watch Fox News.

The former executive has spoken out against News Corp before, such as last month when he accused the company of “demonising immigrants” on NPR.

Fox News was the most-watched cable network in 2018, according to Nielsen Media Research, with two of the top three most-watched cable news shows (Hannity ­and Tucker Carlson Tonight).

However, the network has faced criticism in recent months over offensive comments from two of its most popular hosts, Tucker Carlson and Jeanine Pirro.

Ms Pirro was suspended last month after she questioned congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s patriotism by claiming her hijab contradicted the US Constitution.

Her comments were widely criticised as Islamophobic and Fox News condemned the host, arguing her views “do not reflect those of the network”.

Nevertheless, she was allowed to return to TV on 30 March.

Mr Carlson was criticised for making offensive comments on the radio show Bubba the Love Sponge, in which he described women as “extremely primitive” and called Iraqis "semi-literate, primitive monkeys”.

He refused to apologise for his remarks and his show remains on air.