Tucker Carlson's Rallying His Fans

Tucker Carlson revealed his next move following his departure from Fox News last month.

Carlson, the conservative firebrand who served as the longtime host of the Tucker Carlson Tonight, left Fox News last month in a move that came as a surprise to conservatives. His highly-watched show bolstered his profile as a highly influential figure among the right. However, he has long faced criticism over his stance on a number of issues including the 2020 presidential election and the Russia-Ukraine war, with critics at times accusing him of spreading misinformation on his platform.

However, Carlson won't be off-air for long. He announced on Tuesday plans to relaunch his show on Twitter, which he praised as being one of the only media platforms to allow free speech in a video announcing his new show.

Details about his Twitter show, including when it will launch and whether the format will be similar to his show on Fox News, remained immediately unclear, though he said he would be making more announcements about this show in the near future.

"Starting soon we'll be bringing a new version of the show we've been doing for the last six and a half years to Twitter. We'll be bringing some other things, too, which we'll tell you about," he said. "But for now we're just grateful to be here."

He presented his new show as an alternative to the "gatekeepers" who typically shape discourse on Twitter.

"Twitter has long served as a place where our national conversation incubates and develops. Twitter is not a partisan site. Everyone is allowed here," he said. "And we think that's a good thing. And yet, for the most part, the news that you see analyzed on Twitter comes from media organizations that are themselves thinly disguised propaganda outlets."

His announcement was met with praise from several high-profile conservatives, and video of his announcement was viewed more than 1.5 million times. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, tweeted: "I can't wait for @TuckerCarlson's new show on Twitter. The truth will be unstoppable."

"@TuckerCarlson saw the rot at the heart of our mainstream media. I saw it too. No more narrative. No more gatekeepers. The truth and the people who tell it will NOT be silenced. I can't wait to hear the free and uncensored Tucker on @Twitter," tweeted former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.

Others, however, responded to the news with criticism. Journalist Aaron Rupar tweeted: "for the second time today I feel compelled to point out that Elon Musk is turning Twitter into a right-wing misinformation machine."

"Huge L both ways. Tucker loses his non-compete money, and on Twitter's end, advertisers were allergic to Tucker, hence the constant MyPillow nonsense. Rebranding Twitter as The Tucker Carlson Show will make it even harder for advertisers to stick around," tweeted attorney Max Kennerly.

Newsweek reached out to Twitter CEO Elon Musk via SpaceX and Tesla for comment. After purchasing Twitter last year, Musk disbanded the social media's public relations team.

When Carlson's departure from Fox News was announced in late April, it was initially unclear why the network parted ways with him, as he brought in strong viewership. However, reports have indicated that he could have been fired over a text message concerned members of the company's board.

A text message Carlson allegedly sent on January 7, 2021, allegedly showed him state that "jumping a guy" is "dishonorable" and "not how white men fight, as well as that he found himself "rooting for the mob" against the man being attacked, "hoping they'd hit him harder, kill him," before being dismayed in himself at that reaction. The text was uncovered during the discovery process of the Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit against Fox, which it settled just days prior to his exit.