David Corn: It's Time to Use the F-Word for Fox [View all]

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https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/11/fox-news-tucker-carlson-documentary-fascism/


It’s Time to Use the F-Word for Fox
Tucker Carlson’s new “documentary” has all the hallmarks of fascism.
David Corn
Washington, DC, Bureau ChiefBio | Follow

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Enter Tucker Carlson. Pushing the racist “replacement theory“and vaccination resistance on his nightly Fox News show is apparently not a full-time job for him. He has started producing long-form pieces for the network. The first one, to be released today, promises to reveal the “true story” behind the January 6 insurrectionist attack on the Capitol that Trump incited. Look at the trailer for this propaganda:

The 1/6 assault, the show suggests, was a “false flag” operation, meaning it was orchestrated by the US government to create a ruse to justify an outright Deep State war on conservatives—a “patriot purge.” Carlson features someone who claims that “the left is hunting the right and sticking them in Guantanamo Bay.” The “new” war on terrorism, he tells us, is aimed at white Americans, under the guise of combatting white supremacy. In other words, the Biden administration is coming for you. And it’s coming with attack helicopters—redeployed from Afghanistan—and guns.

This is what fascism looks like. Big lies, martial music, scare-‘em imagery, and the accusation that a corrupt elite is waging a secret war against the common folk and true patriots—including the 1/6 marauders and Fox viewers. This agitprop is even more dangerous than Carlson’s usual yapping. Anyone who buys his latest guff would certainly feel justified in resorting to violence. After all, if they’re hunting you, don’t you need to take extreme measures in response? (One prominent white supremacist now being sued for his role in organizing the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, has submitted court filings showing how he was encouraged by Carlson’s broadcasts.) As of Friday morning, this trailer had been viewed on Twitter at least 2.6 million times.

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On Thursday, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) turned down a request to appear on Carlson’s show with a sharp reply from her spokesperson to Carlson’s top booker: “Tucker has had countless opportunities to explain to his viewers that the election was not stolen. Instead, he continues to promote dangerous conspiracies using the language that provoked violence against law enforcement and our Capitol on January 6. Liz will not participate in that.” This is the model for responsible Republicans. The problem: there are almost no responsible Republicans.

It’s unlikely the Greenblatt letter will persuade the Murdochs. They and Carlson long ago demonstrated they are beyond shaming. And Cheney’s boycott won’t move the network or its most-watched fomenter. But it is time to recognize that Fox has gone far beyond serving merely as a purveyor of right-wing and pro-Trump spin. With this new Carlson joint, Fox is fully embracing the hallmarks of fascism. Any reluctance to call it that only assists the fascists.