Popular Information - Tucker has left the building
This month, Elon Musk started restricting links to Substack, the service we use to publish Popular Information, on Twitter. Under Musk's direction, Twitter "began blocking users from retweeting, liking or engaging with posts that contained links to Substack articles." This is a problem for Popular Information because most of our subscribers have found out about this newsletter through Twitter. Musk has also personally attacked our work. After I documented how the Community Notes feature is being weaponized against Popular Information's accurate reporting Musk tweeted to his 130 million followers that I am a "tool." Popular Information can adapt to this new reality and thrive, but we need your help. We have 255,000 readers, but only a small percentage are paid subscribers. If a few more readers upgrade to paid, Popular Information can invest in alternative growth strategies and produce more accountability journalism that rattles the cages of the rich and powerful. On Monday morning, Tucker Carlson, the nation's most watched cable TV host, was unceremoniously sent packing by Fox News. "FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways," the network said in a terse statement. Carlson's last show was Friday, April 21. There will be no farewell episode. His parting words from Fox News were promoting his latest documentary special, "Let them eat Bugs." There was no shortage of speculation about why Carlson was pushed out. Theories include:
We may never know why Carlson lost his job. There will be a flood of reports about Carlson's dramatic exit in the coming days. Some will be true. Others will be based on claims from interested parties trying to distort the truth. But ultimately, does it really matter? More importantly, we know what was not a firing offense for Carlson. He spent years promoting racist, white nationalist conspiracy theories. Not only was Carlson not fired, but top Fox News executives defended his conduct. For example, in April 2021, Carlson embraced a core tenant of white nationalism, the so-called "great replacement" conspiracy theory. The theory is that "'western' identity is under siege by massive waves of immigration from non-European/non-white countries, resulting in a replacement of white European individuals via demographics." Carlson told millions of viewers that "the Democratic Party is trying to replace the current electorate" with "more obedient voters from the Third World."
The theory Carlson was pushing is frequently cited as the rationale for mass murder. In 2019, for example, a gunman killed 23 people in an El Paso Walmart. The shooter wrote that the "attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas. They are the instigators, not me. I am simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by an invasion." Tucker's rant drew a response from Jonathan A. Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League. Carlson's rhetoric was "not just a dog whistle to racists – it was a bullhorn," Greenblatt wrote in a letter to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott. "It was shocking to hear this kind of open-ended endorsement of white supremacist ideology from an anchor and commentator on your network." In response to these concerns, Fox News did not fire Carlson or discipline him in any way. Instead, Lachlan Murdoch, the CEO of Fox News' parent company, Fox Corporation, wrote back to Greenblatt defending Carlson. Murdoch falsely claimed that Carlson "decried and rejected replacement theory." But, in fact, Carlson defended "white replacement theory." The only thing Carlson argued is that it shouldn't be called "white replacement theory" because it is "true." Whatever the reason Fox News cut ties with Tucker Carlson, it was not a moral stance. That ship sailed long ago. Fox News' next playThe reality of Fox News' relationship with Carlson — and the conduct they were willing to not only ignore but defend — is important. Fox News is entering a critical time renegotiating its fees with cable companies. It is likely to argue that Carlson's firing is a signal that the network is becoming more responsible and, therefore, more attractive to advertisers. Fox News currently charges about $2.18 per subscriber, higher than any other non-sports channel. Vanity Fair reports that Fox News is trying to push that number much higher to over $3.
If Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch get their price, they will increase revenues from cable subscribers by $500 million or more per year. That means millions of cable subscribers who never watch Fox News will foot the bill for Fox News' lies. |
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