News Corp CEO Criticizes Trump’s AI Support Amid IP Theft Concerns in Q4 Earnings Call
Robert Thomson, CEO of News Corp, reignited tensions with Donald Trump during the company’s fiscal Q4 earnings report, cleverly referencing the former president while avoiding direct mention of the ongoing lawsuit Trump filed against the company last month.
The suit stemmed from a Wall Street Journal report exploring Trump’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein. While Epstein was not directly mentioned, Thomson’s remarks made clear that the feud is far from over, using a different battleground: artificial intelligence and intellectual property.
The Irony of Trump’s AI Support
Thomson took a sharp jab at Trump’s enthusiastic support for AI development, including the $500 billion Project Stargate initiative, unveiled at the White House alongside OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Oracle’s Larry Ellison, and other major tech executives.
“Even the President of the United States is not immune to this blatant theft,” Thomson said. “The President’s books… are being consumed by AI engines which profit from his thoughts… Suddenly, The Art of the Deal has become The Art of the Steal.”
The point? Trump’s own books are allegedly being used to train AI models — the very technology he’s promoting — without proper compensation.
News Corp’s Stance: Protecting IP in the AI Age
News Corp has been aggressively pushing back against AI firms it claims are exploiting their content. A notable example is their lawsuit against Perplexity, an AI company backed by Jeff Bezos, accused of scraping content from The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and HarperCollins.
Thomson emphasized that intellectual property (IP) is the lifeblood of generative AI:
“AI runs on IP. To strip away IP rights is to vandalize our virtuosity.”
He stressed that AI companies are spending tens of billions on infrastructure — data centers, chips, and energy — but are not investing adequately in licensed content, which is equally essential for AI’s success.
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“Woo and Sue”: News Corp’s AI Strategy
Thomson outlined a dual strategy toward AI:
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“Woo” companies that engage in ethical licensing deals
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“Sue” those that violate IP laws
“We will fight to protect the intellectual property of our authors and journalists,” he said. “We continue to woo and to sue companies that violate the most basic property rights.”
In response to analysts’ questions about AI summaries by Google and others potentially harming web traffic, Thomson said there have been no material impacts yet, but the situation is being closely monitored.
The Larger Battle Over AI and Content
With AI models increasingly reliant on legally sourced content, publishers like News Corp are calling for fairer terms. The concern isn’t just legal — it’s existential for the future of journalism and creativity.
Thomson concluded by warning against the rise of a “deeply derivative Woke AI” and the potential “digital decay” it could usher in without proper safeguards.
