On May 9, Tucker Carlson announced he was launching a show on Twitter, in a video posted to his @TuckerCarlson account. At the same time, Axios broke the news that Carlson is accusing Fox of “fraud and breach of contract” and making demands of his former employer in a lawsuit.
Don’t Call It a Comeback
Teasing his upcoming online show with a three-minute clip, under a Tweet reading “We’re back,” Carlson offered a system-wide indictment of reporting and media in the country today. He said:
“At the most basic level, the news you consume is a lie — a lie of the stealthiest and most insidious kind. Facts have been withheld on purpose, along with proportion and perspective. You are being manipulated.”
Carlson gave the example of a report about someone accused of armed robbery without disclosing the person had had numerous previous arrests for nearly identical crimes. Tucker said without providing that context, “Am I really informing you? No — I’m not. I’m misleading you, and that’s what the news media are doing in every story that matters every day of the week, every week of the year.” He described speech restrictions on media imposed by management as “the rule of what you can’t say” and that it was “filthy” and “utterly corrupting.” Carlson called Twitter the last and “only” big platform that allows free speech.
But, the former Fox host added, a lot of the debate on Twitter is controlled by legacy media “that are themselves thinly disguised propaganda outlets.”
“You see it on cable news — you talk about it on Twitter. The result may feel like a debate, but actually, the gatekeepers are still in charge. We think that’s a bad system. We know exactly how it works, and we’re sick of it. Starting soon, we will be bringing a new version of the show we’ve been doing for the last six and a half years to Twitter.”
Axios reported on May 7 that Tucker was planning to launch a coordinated public campaign to “bully the network” into letting him work for another media outlet or start his own. It’s been reported that Fox News planned to continue paying Carlson his $20 million-per-year salary, which would forbid him to work elsewhere. The move was seen in some circles as an attempt to muzzle the host through the next presidential election, as Tucker’s contract with Fox runs until January 2025.
Tucker Carlson (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Tucker Has a Plan
Carlson’s plans have changed, however. He now holds the position that Fox breached its contract with him, entitling him to take his show elsewhere. Axios reported exclusively on a letter from Carlson’s lawyer to Fox, sent before the Twitter announcement, which alleged fraud by senior Fox executives, “including Rupert Murdoch himself,” and a breach of promises not to leak Carlson’s private messages revealed in the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit.
Axios said, “Carlson is also claiming that [Irena] Briganti, Fox’s longtime communications and PR chief, attempted to ‘undermine, embarrass, and interfere’ with Carlson’s future business prospects, which he maintains would constitute another breach of his employment contract.” They say they intend to access Briganti’s calls and texts, likely including disclosures Fox News would be loathe to see released.
Carlson’s announcement concluded with an appeal to text his name to a certain number. Replies encouraged a visit to his online merchandise store, where Tucker-branded swag abounds.
