Tucker Carlson's Twitter Reveal Sends Internet Into a Tizzy

Tucker Carlson, who was let go by Fox News last month, has sparked an internet storm after unveiling plans to move his show online by broadcasting on Twitter.

The former Fox presenter tweeted a video on Tuesday outlining his intention to pivot to social media, uploading an almost 3-minute clip with the caption: "We're back." His announcement proved to be divisive as viewers and commentators reacted to the news. And the clip had been viewed more than 68 million times, retweeted by more than 147,000 people, and garnered almost 630,000 'likes' by Wednesday morning.

Addressing the camera directly in his Twitter statement, Carlson said: "Amazingly, as of tonight, there aren't many platforms left that allow free speech. The last big one remaining in the world, the only one, is Twitter where we are now.

"Twitter has long served as the place where our national conversation incubates and develops. Twitter is not a partisan site. Everybody is allowed here. 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. You see it on cable news; you talk about it on Twitter... 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. But for now, we're just grateful to be here."

Carlson's announcement, which came just weeks after Twitter owner Elon Musk sat for a two-part interview with him on Fox News, set the internet alight.

Many of the comments responding to his video were jubilant, with some expressing thanks and gratitude. However, others were critical or cynical about his motives.

One Twitter user replied to Carlson's post saying: "I cannot thank you enough for being one of the brave to speak out." While Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert tweeted: "Now the important message that Tucker shares will be accessible to the entire world via Twitter. This is a monumental moment. Cannot wait to see this!!"

Others noted that the amount of views Carlson received for his video dwarfed that of his former show, or indeed its rivals. One tweeter noted the millions of views and claimed: "The mainstream media is so over."

But others took umbrage at Carlson's claims about other media being "propaganda outlets" alleging that he was no different.

Luke Zaleski, legal affairs editor at magazine publisher Condé Nast, tweeted: "Tucker is rebooting his image and wants you to believe that after a career of punditry and misleading and confusing people under the guise of entertainment—that was laundered via soundbites into fake news cycles—he's suddenly a beacon of truth and the world's most ethical newsman."

While a Twitter user replied to Carlson's video: "A lot of what you say is sadly true... but you have often proven to be as complicit as the rest of them. Are you gonna own that? Or you just going to blame @FoxNews for forcing you all these years to feed biased narratives without sharing all the facts?"

And another wrote: "You are right about everything you said but the problem is that you are just as guilty as those you accuse, of doing these things. How many times have you set narratives without telling all of the facts?"

That particular reaction prompted a reply from Musk himself who jumped in to write: "On this platform, unlike the one-way street of broadcast, people are able to interact, critique and refute whatever he or anyone may say. And, of course, anything misleading will get @CommunityNotes.

"I also want to be clear that we have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever. Tucker is subject to the same rules & rewards of all content creators.

"Rewards means subscriptions and advertising revenue share (still working on software needed for latter), which is a function of how many people subscribe and the advertising views associated with his content.

"I hope that many others, particularly from the left, also choose to be content creators on this platform."

In his video post on Twitter, Carlson also discussed his views of the media landscape in the U.S., claiming that while the news is "true in the literal sense... that doesn't make it true." He continued: "At the most basic level, the news you consume is a lie... Facts have been withheld on purpose, along with proportion and perspective."

And he alluded to his own sacking by saying: "What's it like to work in a system like that? After more than 30 years in the middle of it we could tell you stories. 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 that if you bump up against those limits often enough you will be fired for it. That's not a guess – it's guaranteed."

The announcement came in the wake of Carlson's ousting on April 24, which saw Fox lose half of the timeslot's viewers as ratings plunged from more than 3 million to an audience of as low as 1.3 million the following week. He had previously been feted by station which saw his prime-time show "Tucker Carlson Tonight" become the highest-rated cable news program in the key demographic of those aged 25 to 54.

Carlson's unexpected firing was said to have been triggered in part by a text he sent to a producer about footage of an "Antifa [antifascist] kid" being attacked by a group of "Trump guys."

Carlson allegedly said the violence is "not how white men fight" then added he found himself "rooting for the mob" and hoping they'd "kill him" before being dismayed by his own reaction.

The text was reportedly discovered amid the broadcaster's legal battle with Dominion Voting Systems, which had accused Fox News of defamation by pushing untrue allegations that election fraud aided Joe Biden's presidential victory over Donald Trump. The broadcaster eventually settled for $787.5 million rather than go to trial.

An NBC discussion about Carlson's pivot into Twitter saw guest Brian Stelter asked whether "anybody will be able to police what Carlson says?" Stelter, a special correspondent for Vanity Fair, replied: "I think this is the point; it is a free-for-all, it's what Elon Musk wants to provide. This move by Tucker may cement the idea of Twitter as a right-wing website."

Newsweek has reached out for comment from Carlson and Twitter representatives over Twitter, and from Fox News by email.