Ben Blanchet
Thu, May 19, 2022, 3:50 AM·2 min read
A clip shared Wednesday compared Fox News host Tucker Carlson's coverage of acts of mass violence. (Photo: Fox News)
A clip shared Wednesday compared Fox News host Tucker Carlson's coverage of acts of mass violence. (Photo: Fox News)
Some mass shootings and violence bring out a different side of Tucker Carlson than others.
In a clip shared by MSNBC host Ari Melber, the Fox News host shows a “double standard” when he covers violence committed by white perpetrators versus covering violence against white people.
The clip starts off with Carlson’s coverage of the Buffalo, New York mass shooting that left 10 people dead at a supermarket Saturday. Most of the victims were Black and the attack took place in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
The alleged shooter, who is white, stated that he wanted to “kill as many Blacks as possible” and cited the baseless “replacement theory” in a 180-page document that was posted online.
In his coverage of the attack, Carlson stopped short of calling the document, which was filled with racist ideology, a “manifesto.”
“It is not a blueprint for a new extremist political movement,” Carlson said.
“Because a mentally ill teenager murdered strangers, you cannot be allowed to express your political views,” he added.
Carlson’s coverage of last year’s parade attack in Waukesha, Wisconsin, struck a different tone.
The alleged attacker, who is black, reportedly drove an SUV through a Christmas parade route, killing 6 people in the predominantly white city. White supremacists later used the incident, along with conspiratorial beliefs by the attacker, to ”[sow] racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories,” according to a blog post from the Anti-Defamation League.
Carlson’s take on the Waukesha attack mimicked those of racist conspiracy theories online. He also linked Black nationalism and the Black Lives Matter movement to the “slaughter” in Wisconsin.
You can look for the difference in Carlson’s coverage in the clip below:
The ADL’s Center on Extremism ruled out “overarching extremist ideology” in an overview of the alleged Wisconsin attacker’s social media posts.
“Waukesha has become yet another current event, as seen through the white supremacist lens, supporting unsubstantiated but perceived claims of escalating crimes targeting white victims,” the ADL stated.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
Tucker Carlson ‘Not Sure’ About Great Replacement Theory After Pushing It 400 Times
Fox News host Tucker Carlson tried to distance himself Tuesday from the white supremacist “great replacement” theory he’s peddled on his prime time show for years, before launching into a long rant about Democratic plots to encourage immigration to win elections, a key tenet of the conspiracy idea.
Carlson opened his program Tuesday denouncing the 18-year-old suspect accused of killing 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York last week. The man, Payton Gendron, is accused of targeting the store, which sits in a predominantly Black neighborhood, after posting a 180-page screed online featuring racist, white supremacist tropes. The document references extreme versions of what’s known as “replacement theory,” which baselessly claims powerful Democrats and others are plotting to replace white Americans with people of color through immigration policies.
Carlson has spent years pushing the idea, and a New York Times investigation found he has promoted it in more than 400 episodes of his program since he joined Fox News’ prime time lineup in 2016.
But Carlson said Tuesday he’s still unsure what the conspiracy theory is.
“You’ve heard a lot about the great replacement theory recently, it’s everywhere … we’re still not sure exactly what it is,” the host said Tuesday. He quickly pivoted to accuse Democrats of touting immigration as a means to secure electoral victories. “Here’s what we do know for a fact: There’s a strong political component to the Democrats’ immigration theory. We know this because they have said so ... They say, out loud, ‘we are doing this because it helps us win elections.’”
“The Democratic Party has decided that rather than convince you, people who are born here, that their policies are helping you and making the country better and stronger, they will change the electorate,” Carlson went on, adding Democrats were “importing” people that would vote for them.
The comments build on the host’s claim Monday that Democrats — namely President Joe Biden — are using the Buffalo massacre to strip Americans of their First Amendment right to free speech.
Democrats have directly pointed at Carlson in recent days for his role in promoting the great replacement idea. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called on Fox News leadership to stop amplifying the racist idea, saying doing so was “reckless.”
“In a craven quest for viewers and ratings, organizations like Fox News have spent years perfecting the craft of stoking cultural grievance and political resentment that eerily mirrors the messages found in replacement theory,” Schumer said on the Senate floor Monday.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
Related...
Fox News Host Mark Levin Proudly Stokes 'Great Replacement Theory'
Fox News host Mark Levin blatantly supported the “great replacement theory” Tuesday on his radio show, joining colleague Tucker Carlson and top House Republican Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) in pushing a racist conspiracy embraced by the gunman charged in the Buffalo, New York, mass killing. (Listen below.)
Carlson, denounced by political leaders for promoting the baseless idea hundreds of times on his prime time show, on Tuesday attempted to dance around the controversy by declaring he wasn’t sure what it was.
Levin took the direct route.
The theory stokes white fear by asserting that elite Democrats and others are scheming to replace white Americans with people of color through immigration or to undermine white influence in other ways. It has gained footing among conservatives, including several mainstream Republican Senate candidates.
The accused Buffalo shooter repeatedly cited the white supremacist theory in a 180-page racist screed.
“The ‘great replacement’ ideology is indeed a policy of the Democrat policy,” Levin said. “They have celebrated it. They’ve spoken of it. Obama has, Biden has.”
Levin, the host of “Life, Liberty and Levin” on Fox News, praised Stefanik for her leadership and for her ad asserting that “illegal immigrants ... will overthrow our current electorate and create a permanent liberal majority in Washington.”
“Isn’t that why the Democrats are doing this? Is there some other reason?” Levin asked on “The Mark Levin Show.” “Does anybody believe if people coming across the border illegally would potentially be Republicans, that the Democrat Party would support it?”
“How many people have died as a result of the Democrat Party and Biden’s great replacement ideology? I’m just wondering.”
H/T Media Matters
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