News International phone hacking scandal facts for kids
Imagine a newspaper that secretly listened to people's voicemails. This is what happened with a British newspaper called News of the World. Its employees were caught doing this, which is known as phone hacking. They also tried to influence stories by offering money to police officers.
From 2005 to 2007, investigations showed that the newspaper targeted famous people, politicians, and even members of the British royal family. When the public found out, there was a huge outcry against the company that owned the newspaper, News Corporation, and its boss, Rupert Murdoch.
This scandal led to many important people leaving their jobs. Rupert Murdoch stepped down as a director of News Corporation. His son, James, also left his role. Other top executives and police officials resigned too. Because of the public anger and advertisers pulling their ads, the News of the World newspaper closed down on 10 July 2011. It had been published for 168 years! News Corporation also had to cancel a plan to buy a TV company called BSkyB.
The Leveson Inquiry
On 6 July 2011, the prime minister, David Cameron, announced a special investigation. It was called the Leveson Inquiry. This inquiry looked into the phone hacking and police bribery by News of the World. It also examined the general rules and behavior of the British newspaper industry. The inquiry suggested that the old system for handling complaints about newspapers should be completely changed.
What Was Found?
Many people were arrested and found guilty after the inquiry. One notable person was Andy Coulson, a former editor of News of the World.
Rupert Murdoch and his son, James, had to speak at the Leveson Inquiry. Rupert Murdoch admitted that there had been a cover-up inside News of the World. This cover-up was meant to hide how widespread the phone hacking was.
In May 2012, a group of lawmakers said that Rupert Murdoch "wilfully ignored" what was happening in his companies. They said he was "not a fit person" to lead a big international company. Later, in 2013, a secret recording of Murdoch was broadcast. In it, he said that investigators were "totally incompetent" and that his papers' actions were just "part of the culture" of newspapers in London.
