When Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch replied in April to the firestorm caused by his star Fox News host, Tucker Carlson, passionately invoking the “great replacement” conspiracy theory favored by white nationalists, Murdoch chose to lie.
“A full review of the guest interview indicates that Mr. Carlson decried and rejected replacement theory,” Murdoch wrote. This was obviously and insultingly false. Carlson had explicitly endorsed its core tenets during the April 8 segment, saying that “the Democratic Party is trying to replace the current electorate, the voters now casting ballots, with new people, more obedient voters from the Third World.” White nationalists themselves knew better: They praised the Fox host for bringing their talking points to his massive audience.
His boss’ dishonest comment was a green light for Carlson to continue to promote that conspiracy theory — and the host took it as such. Over the past two months, as Carlson became the face of Fox, “replacement” has proven a dominant theme of his program. It also spread to other Foxpersonalities and, increasingly, to Republican political operatives and politicians as well. Given Carlson’s sway over both his network and the GOP, that trend is likely to continue. Continue reading.