‘This is the dark art’: New book claims pattern of personal attacks by Murdoch media empire

In a book dedicated to ‘the bullied’, two former News Corp journalists outline a behaviour pattern they call ‘getting Murdoched’, which they say harms individuals and public debate

In 2009, David Nutt, a professor of pharmacology who had served as the chief drugs adviser to the British Labour government remarked at a public discussion about legalising drugs that alcohol was a serious social problem, more so than psychedelic drugs.

Soon after, he received a call from a reporter for The Sun, then the UK’s most prolific tabloid newspaper. The reporter asked: “What would you say if I told you we are going to do an exposé on your children’s drugs and drinking habits tomorrow?”