Fox News and Tucker's Big Lie
We began a petition drive this week to ask Fox News owners and executives to remove Tucker Carlson's "Patriot Purge" special from Fox Nation.
In this 3-part series, Carlson bends the truth, omits relevant facts, and spreads disinformation to make a number of outrageous claims. The special primarily says that the January 6 Capitol riots were a "false flag" operation by our own government and is being used as an excuse to infringe the rights of Trump supporters, including imprisonment and torture. Carlson calls this the "second war on terror." Clips and images from the first war on terror are used throughout as Carlson says the tactics used against terrorists are now being used against Trump supporters.
At the end of episode 3, Carlson summarizes his points this way: "They're telling you that crushing the civil rights of citizens is necessary. We have no choice if we want to live in a safer country. We must spy on our political opponents. We must silence them. Defame them. Prevent them from having jobs. Take away their bank accounts. Throw them in solitary confinement. Shoot them in the neck if necessary. All of this, they're telling us, is the price of living in peace. Democracy means declaring war on your own people. ... They're pushing you toward violence, and they're doing it on purpose."
While Carlson never specifically encourages (or discourages) violence, we worry that his disinformation campaign could incite violence or other unlawful acts. A new PRRI poll highlights the problem.
When shown this statement, “Because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country," 18% of the country agreed!
By political party, nearly 1/3 Republicans, 30%, agreed they may have to resort to violence, which is staggering compared to the already too high Democrats, 11%, and independents, 17%. Among Republicans who trust far-right news sources, such as OANN and Newsmax, 40% say they may have to resort to violence, and 32% of those who trust Fox News said the same. By religious group, white evangelical protestants were the most likely to see the potential need for violence at 26%.
As we say in the petition, this isn't about censorship. We support Carlson's First Amendment rights. Our appeal is to the owners and executives of Fox News to be responsible stewards of their network. Having the right to spread disinformation and malinformation doesn't require Fox News to provide the platform for Carlson to do that.
Knowing that nearly one in three of those who trust Fox News expressed a willingness to resort to violence to "save our country," it's irresponsible to promote the lie that the government is out to get them. If you agree please consider signing our petition and sharing it.
Event
I'm excited to announce AVC's first webinar!
Next Wednesday at 3pm eastern, join me, Charlie Sykes and David French as we talk about "Conservative Media, Misinformation, and Conspiracies." Come with your questions for what is sure to be an exhilarating topic. There will also be lots of snacks! (But only if you provide them yourself because this is a webinar.) Sign up here.