Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson announced on Monday that he would be relaunching his show on Twitter and the authoritarian left is still melting down about it. The announcement came just weeks after Fox severed its relationship with him. The network has been attempting to destroy him behind the scenes since they parted ways.
During an interview with former CNN media activist Brian Stelter, NBC News’ Tom Costello brought up Carlson’s announcement, and he wasn’t pleased about it. Costello expressed concern over the lack of oversight for Tucker Carlson’s speech on his new show, which will now be exclusively aired on Twitter.
“Okay, well listen, Twitter was already under fire for misinformation, disinformation, all-out lies, anti-Semitism [and] racism before Elon Musk took over, and now it’s gotten kind of crazy — seemingly unmoored, if you will. Will anybody be able to police what Carlson says, or is this the point? It’s just a free for all?” Costello wondered.
In his announcement video, Carlson stated that there are few platforms remaining that allow free speech, and he believes Twitter is the last major one available.
Stelter commented on the situation, stating that he believes this is precisely the point of Carlson’s move to Twitter—a platform that Elon Musk now controls. The former CNN host suggested that it might solidify Twitter’s supposed reputation as a right-wing website. He further argued that Carlson’s presence was detrimental to Fox’s profits, and both Stelter and Costello speculated that advertisers might leave Twitter due to the launch of Carlson’s new show.
You would think that by now, Stelter would know better than to tell easily debunked lies on national television. Only someone whose mind dwells deep in the recesses of a left-wing echo chamber would believe that Carlson was causing Fox News to lose revenue and that Twitter is now a right-wing social media platform because the Big, Bad, Tesla Man took it over.
NBC’s reaction to Tucker Carlson’s Twitter show announcement: “Will anybody be able to police what Carlson says or is this the point? It’s just a free for all?”
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) May 10, 2023
The authoritarian left is about as frightened at the prospect of an unmuzzled Carlson as Jim Acosta is of a room with no mirrors. Unfortunately for them, the days of attacking Carlson’s advertisers to get him off the air are over.
On Twitter, Carlson will be able to say what he wants to say and wield tremendous influence. With Elon Musk in charge and the politically biased censorship practices curtailed, there is no hope of progressives at the company suppressing his content or banning his account because they don’t like the views he expresses.
Nevertheless, this does not mean they will not still try to find other ways to silence the former Fox News host. Chances are, companies will choose to advertise on his Twitter show. They can try to come after these entities, but on a digital platform, it might be difficult to convince, cajole, or coerce them to cut ties. Indeed, at this point, they already know what they are getting into by partnering with Carlson.
Folks on the left might also renew their attacks on Musk as a way to target Carlson indirectly. When he first took over the company, left-wing media outlets ran various smear campaigns against him any time he so much as sneezed. They accused him of allowing hate speech and child porn on the platform even though the data showed he had decreased both. But these people never let something as little as the truth get in their way.
When Carlson gets started, they will undoubtedly use anything he says against Musk, hoping that they can badger him into turning on the former anchor. Still, there isn’t much they can do at this point. Now that Fox News has pushed him out, Tucker Carlson is more powerful than he ever has been. Now, the world is going to see the consequences of trying to suppress him.
