No, he’s not a cause. He’s a symptom. This is an example of “great man history”, where Murdoch is seen as somehow special, and if we had prevented him from fucking shit up, things would be fine.
I would argue that if he didn’t do it, someone else would’ve, because it’s a systemic problem, and he is just one example of it, just like Trump. They are not the cause of illness, but a symptom of illness.