News Corp CEO Robert Thomson blasted artificial intelligence companies accused of stealing the media giant’s content during his company’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, warning that their customers could also find themselves caught in the company’s widening legal campaign.
“Artificial intelligence itself is only as useful, only as trustworthy, as the quality and integrity of its inputs,” Thomson said. Without professionally produced journalism and other creative work, he argued, users would be left “drowning in a slimy sea of AI slop.”
News Corp. is one of many media companies navigating the legally and competitively fraught world of AI. The company, which owns The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and publisher HarperCollins, has licensing partnerships with OpenAI and Meta and is in “advanced discussions with several other honorable companies,” according to Thomson. At the same time, it is pursuing legal action against companies it accuses of unlawfully using its content.
Thomson singled out AI search company Perplexity and browser developer Brave, describing the latter as “a company brave in name only.” He accused Brave of using masked web crawlers to collect copyrighted articles before repackaging the material for business customers.
“Companies who buy from these pirates should know that they are in possession of stolen goods,” Thomson said, adding that News Corp expects its lawsuits to expose and halt what it alleges is illegal conduct.
Thomson later suggested the company could look beyond AI developers as it considers future legal action.
“We’re focusing not just on companies that have scraped and stolen our content, but on their clients who, knowingly or unknowingly, have purchased stolen goods,” he said. “As for litigation, it’s far from over.”
The executive also defended News Corp.’s existing licensing agreements amid mounting questions about whether AI partnerships provide sufficient value to publishers as search referral traffic declines. Thomson said its relationships with OpenAI and Meta are not “merely transactional arrangements.”
“We are creators; they are savvy distributors,” he said. “Our inputs are crucial components of their outputs.”
Future agreements could include both broad partnerships with major AI platforms and specialized arrangements with companies developing industry-specific products, Thomson said. He also confirmed that News Corp’s Meta agreement is already contributing to the company’s business.
“There are more deals to come,” Thomson said, “and hopefully not too much litigation.”