Within hours of the petition going up, the site appeared to crash due to signee numbers.
Earlier this morning, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd launched a petition calling for a Royal Commission into the Rupert Murdoch media empire, which he has called a “cancer on democracy.”
In a video that accompanied the petition, Rudd noted that the move was prompted by his “passion for the country’s future.”
He described the Murdoch empire as “abusing the media monopoly in Australia” and threatening “the future lifeblood of our democratic system.”
He also called for diverse media ownership. “Murdoch has become a cancer, an arrogant cancer, on our democracy,” he said. “It’s the sheer concentration of Murdoch’s media ownership — 70% of our print media is owned by Murdoch.”
Australians have watched with growing anger at what the Murdoch media monopoly is doing to our country. A cancer on democracy. Today I am launching a national petition to establish a #MurdochRoyalCommission. If you value our democracy, please sign here: https://t.co/FjfK7ij7YQ pic.twitter.com/gIGfmMF49W — Kevin Rudd (@MrKRudd) October 9, 2020
Within hours of the petition going up, it appeared that a large number of signees was crashing the site. Multiple Twitter users posted screenshots of the petition failing to properly load, presumably due to the increase in traffic.
We’ve broken the site I think! pic.twitter.com/IulGFIe7z9 — Emily Mayo (@iamemilymayo) October 10, 2020
Rudd has lambasted the media empire in the past. Last year, he wrote an op-ed for The Guardian in which he claimed that the country was “dancing to the reactionary tune of the [conservative] media.”
If you would like to sign the petition, head to this link.
ThornInButt on October 10th, 2020 at 06:35 UTC »
FOREIGNERS PLEASE READ:
If you’re not an Australian expat then don’t sign this petition as only Australian signatures are counted.
Foreigners trying to sign the petition stops legit Australians from signing considering the site is already rejecting signatures due to overload and any foreign signatures will likely be weeded out based on IP or if recognised as a VPN user.
For foreigners. Have a look at the petition and do your best to spread awareness so more Australians can see it and inspire similar campaigns in your countries, but leave the signing of this particular petition to Australians for maximum impact.
soundawake on October 10th, 2020 at 05:43 UTC »
For our American friends who don't know what a Royal Commission is, it is -
A Royal Commission is an investigation, independent of government, into a matter of great importance. Royal Commissions have broad powers to hold public hearings, call witnesses under oath and compel evidence.
The biggest type of legal inquiry/investigation there is in Australia.
sapientia-maxima on October 10th, 2020 at 04:15 UTC »
Rupert Murdoch’s flood of disinformation is rotting civilization and literally killing the planet. This can’t happen soon enough.