Rupert Murdoch, the "Zionist movement" and BBC Radio 5 Live

Rupert Murdoch has long been a person of fascination to those who believe that Jews, or Zionists, run the media. You only have to put "Rupert Murdoch Jewish" into Google and scroll through the 209,000 results, many of them from neo-Nazi web forums, to marvel at the geneological detective work that has been done to try to pin him down as part of the global Zionist conspiracy.

Sometimes this subterranean world of conspiracy theory intrudes upon day-to-day mainstream public debate. This morning, BBC Radio 5 Live's regular phone-in show, hosted by Nicky Cambell, discussed the subject: "Is Rupert Murdoch good for Britain?" This was presumably meant to focus on the proposed buyout of BSkyB by Murdoch's News Corp; but Campbell's first caller, "Jim from Manchester", managed to sneak past the BBC's filters and used his platform to expose the truth about Murdoch and the media. The exchange went something like this (from about 6:10):

Campbell: You're a big fan [of Murdoch] aren't you, tell me why.

Jim: ...I think we're being spoonfed, brainwashed, this constant propaganda mind control from Rupert Murdoch.

Campbell: Well the reason I thought you were going to come on and say he is a good thing is because that's what you told the people who phoned you.

Jim: Had I come on and said that...knocking Rupert Murdoch, I would have never got on.

Campbell: Yes you would, that's what it's all about - we're hearing from peole against him, we're hearing from people for him - that's the basic idea of this...

Jim: I've done it in the past Nicky and I know that, when you listen to not just Sky but if you listen to BBC, people like Charlie Wolf and these people, these are the same people [who are] part of the Zionist movement who run the media, honestly...

Campbell: Oh I see, right...

Jim: Anybody who's listened to it Nicky, with an open mind, can tell you that we're having this constant brainwashing where it's the same thing, the topics, the Muslim-bashing, the same thing which is over and over again...

At this point Campell attempts to gently tease out what "Jim" is getting at, and Jim does not disappoint:

Campbell: What has Rupert Murdoch got to do with your agenda, the fact that it's all a Zionist plot, is Rupert Murdoch part of that?

Jim: Well Rupert Murdoch is the one who is controlling the media, there is no journalism. If you speak to anybody, journalism in that organisation is dead. You look at people like Montel Williams, he got rid of him. You look at anybody, let's say like MelGibson, a very intelligent guy, but because he made certain remarks...

Campbell: Antisemitic remarks! OK...

Jim: No but if you look at him in terms of his context Nicky, if you listen to him properly, rather than having every person who works in his organisation to go in there and target them people...

Campell has clearly had enough by this point and moves onto the next caller, who sums it up rather well:

Campbell: Jim, I think you've made your point...we're all brainwashed. Thank you. Jimmy in Durham?

Jimmy: I'm like the other chap, I think the earth's flat as well...