Tucker Carlson, a former Fox News host, announced on Tuesday that he will launch a new show on Twitter modeled after his cable news program.
“There aren’t many platforms left that allow free speech,” Carlson said in a video posted to Twitter. “The last big one remaining in the world, the only one is Twitter, where we are now.”
“Twitter’s not a partisan site. Everyone’s allowed here, and we think that’s a good thing,” he added.
Last fall, when Elon Musk purchased Twitter, he stated that he believed it was essential for a democratic society to have a forum where ideas could be freely exchanged.
Carlson stated in his video that although Twitter is an open platform, the majority of news sites that post on the site are “thinly disguised propaganda outlets.”
He indicated that his program intends to be unique.
We’re back. pic.twitter.com/sG5t9gr60O
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) May 9, 2023
“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,” he said.
“The best you can hope for in the news business at this point is the freedom to tell the fullest truth that you can. But there are always limits and you know if you bump up against those limits often enough you will be fired for it,” Carlson observed.
Carlson was dismissed by Fox News last month despite hosting the highest-rated program on the network.
Fox did not provide a reason, but The Los Angeles Times reported, citing unidentified sources, that Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch made the decision to terminate Carlson.
Murdoch was reportedly dissatisfied with Carlson’s coverage of the Capitol invasion on January 6, 2021, particularly when he questioned what role federal law enforcement agencies may have played that day.
In his video, Carlson said, “You can’t have a free society if people aren’t allowed to say what they think is true. Speech is the fundamental prerequisite for democracy. That’s why it’s enshrined in the first of our constitutional amendments.”
“Free speech is the main right that you have. Without it, you have no others. See you soon,” he concluded.
Within an hour of its publication, Carlson’s video had already surpassed 7 million views.