News Corp CEO Slams Trump’s AI Policies, Defends Intellectual Property in Earnings Report

In a sharp and subtly scathing commentary during News Corp’s Q4 earnings report, CEO Robert Thomson criticized Donald Trump — not for the recent lawsuit filed by Trump against The Wall Street Journal over its Jeffrey Epstein coverage, but for his enthusiastic support of AI development in the U.S., which Thomson argues undermines intellectual property rights.

A War of Words Over AI and IP

Without directly mentioning Trump’s lawsuit, Thomson launched a veiled attack centered around the ethical and legal implications of AI technologies that profit from existing creative works. Referencing the massive AI infrastructure initiative “Project Stargate” — backed by Trump and involving tech giants like OpenAI, Oracle, and Sam Altman — Thomson warned:

“Even the President of the United States is not immune to this blatant theft… Suddenly, The Art of the Deal has become The Art of the Steal.”

Thomson’s remarks cleverly blended humor with concern, emphasizing that AI models are increasingly consuming and monetizing copyrighted material — including books written by Trump himself.

News Corp’s Legal and Business Stance on AI

News Corp, parent company of the Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and HarperCollins, has been actively pushing back against AI companies that they claim are training their models on unauthorized content. Last fall, they filed a lawsuit against Perplexity, a Bezos-backed AI firm, for allegedly scraping copyrighted content from its media properties.

“AI runs on IP,” Thomson declared, stressing the need for AI firms to pay for the content that powers their models. “They need to ensure the content ecosystem remains healthy… not allow a derivative Woke AI to guide us into digital decay.”

Thomson described News Corp’s strategy as a “woo-and-sue” approach: building partnerships with AI companies where beneficial, while suing when necessary to protect journalistic and creative rights.

Trump and the Irony of AI Consumption

In perhaps the most ironic twist, Thomson pointed out that Trump’s own books, including the still-popular The Art of the Deal, are being digested and repurposed by the very AI systems he promotes. He questioned the fairness of creators being “ripped off” while AI firms invest billions in infrastructure without fairly compensating the authors and journalists whose work they rely on.

“Companies are spending tens of billions on chips and data centers,” he said, “but they must also spend millions on the content that drives their value.”

The Bigger Picture: Defending Creative Economies

As generative AI becomes more embedded in search and digital experiences — with Google’s AI summaries already threatening publisher traffic — media companies like News Corp are preparing for a long fight to preserve their economic and cultural relevance.

“To strip away IP rights is to vandalize our virtuosity,” Thomson concluded.

For now, News Corp remains on the legal offensive, signaling that the battle over content ownership in the AI era is far from over.