Fox News’ Tucker Carlson is saying more stuff that’s — pick your word — goofy? Dangerous? Irresponsible? Ridiculous? Harmful? Reprehensible? Outrageous? All of the above and so much more?
The latest is Carlson complaining about wearing masks outside. Here’s the clip. He said you should verbally accost those who want to wear a mask and call the cops on parents whose children are wearing masks. He said a bunch more, but you get the gist. And, frankly, it turns the stomach to even repeat it.
The recommendations about masks are changing, as President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday, and there are serious conversations to be had about all things related to COVID-19, including masks.
But Carlson wasn’t trying to have a serious conversation. He was telling people to call the cops if they see a kid wearing a mask because it’s a form of child abuse. That’s not being serious.
It’s so out there that it makes you wonder if Carlson is now just seeing how far he can go before someone (like his employer) tells him to knock it off.
Is he serious about the stuff he says? Is he joking? Is he just trolling? Is he sitting back and getting a kick out of people losing their minds over the latest thing that comes out of his mouth?
The answers to those questions really don’t matter. What does matter is how his viewers — and there are millions — absorb that message. What does matter is what his audience thinks.
And I can tell you that many take him seriously. How do I know? Because I hear from them. All the time. Whenever I write about Tucker Carlson, I get angry emails from his fans who swear by what he says on his prime-time show and defend even his most preposterous commentary.
So that gets back to the question that always comes up: Should we even talk about someone who says such things? If his viewers are going to defend him no matter what and everyone else is going to see him as someone in a tie banging pots and pans together to make the loudest noise possible, why not just ignore him?
On MSNBC on Wednesday, contributor Frank Figliuzzi said, “I debated even coming on and talking about Tucker Carlson. For him, this is really about ratings and relevancy, and he thrives on this kind of coverage. He’ll probably have us on in clips tonight on his show, and relish the fact we’re talking about it.”
But maybe there is something far more nefarious about Carlson’s words, something that goes way beyond ratings and trolling the so-called other side.
Appearing on CNN, Asha Rangappa, former FBI special agent and CNN’s legal and national security analyst, said, “He is also a master class in propaganda. He’s very effective in meeting the three goals of propaganda — which is to, one, shape people’s beliefs; two, reinforce those beliefs; and, three, to get people to act on those beliefs. And in this case, what he is trying to do is … channeling his propaganda to condition them to engage in antisocial behavior against their own neighbors, their fellow citizens … and I think that should be very troubling.”
It is troubling and dangerous because, as I mentioned, many of Carlson’s viewers are fully behind him. My belief is someone will call the cops and waste the police's valuable time because they see a child wearing a mask. Someone will challenge another person for wearing a mask and it will turn ugly. I believe Carlson’s words will have consequences.
In her media column for The Washington Post, Margaret Sullivan wrote, “Carlson, though, delivers for Fox News, night after unhinged night. And he seems to have no limits. Some of it may be harmless. The mask screed, though, isn’t.”
Sullivan, correctly, calls it “outrage-mongering.” She added, “If the past is any indication, it’s a lost cause to hope that Fox will rein in Carlson. He’s doing exactly what the Murdoch ownership wants: Juicing ratings, and giving Fox a reason for existing in the post-Trump era. These days, the only question is how low he’ll go.”
He’ll go as low and as far as Fox News allows and they seem poised to let him do whatever he wants. He has become, by far, Fox News’ biggest personality — to the point where Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and the rest of Fox News’ biggest names are barely relevant at the moment compared to Carlson.
Yesterday it was the Derek Chauvin verdict. Today it’s about masks. Tomorrow it will be about someone or something else. Carlson will cause another controversy. We’ll all be outraged.
And Fox News, apparently, will be just fine with that.
Impactful journalism
A CBS News investigation could lead to legislation that will require regulators and carmakers to strengthen standards in an effort to make cars safer.
In 2015, CBS News started an investigation that revealed that when cars are struck from the rear, the front seats may break. When they did, the occupants often were propelled into the back seats where children often sit. The CBS News investigation found that more than 100 people, most of them children, were severely injured or killed as a result.
Back in 2015, the CBS News report quoted safety officials who said there was “no excuse” for not improving the safety on this matter.
Now Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) are reintroducing legislation that would require a new strength standard.
Markey told CBS News congressional correspondent Kris Van Cleave, “We must end these entirely unacceptable and preventable tragedies” and then he thanked CBS for shining a light on the issue.
