Rupert Murdoch, that mogul who most epitomizes the conflict between the old guard of industry and the internet, lashed out at unnamed competitors who are “piling on with lies and libels.” Murdoch, the CEO and founder of News Corporation, used his Twitter account to berate his critics.

I find the juxtaposition of Murdoch’s overbearing personality and his mix of inane, yet grandiose tweets fascinating. The low-grade paranoia displayed in these latest tweets, along with Murdoch’s refusal to stick to just one tweet for his thoughts, tell a story. Are Murdoch’s employees too afraid of him to tell the man he needs a PR person running his Twitter account? He has been putting himself on display on Twitter for a while now. Isn’t it time to take the keys away?

On a more serious note, these tweets came alongside a press release from News Corp that criticized the BBC for a new documentary it released investigating a News Corp subsidiary’s involvement in the hacking of competitor pay-TV companies devices. From the release:

“The BBC’s Panorama program was a gross misrepresentation of NDS’s role as a high quality and leading provider of technology and services to the pay-TV industry, as are many of the other press accounts that have piled on — if not exaggerated — the BBC’s inaccurate claims. Panorama presented manipulated and mischaracterized emails to produce unfair and baseless accusations. News Corporation is proud to have worked with NDS and to have supported them in their aggressive fight against piracy and copyright infringement. News Corporation fully endorses Executive Chairman of NDS Abe Peled’s attached letter to Panorama and supports NDS in clearing its name, just as the U.S. Department of Justice, a federal court jury and a federal appellate court have all done in past rulings.”

With this being just the latest twist in the News Corp scandal, Murdoch’s replies on Twitter are not laughing at him the way I am: