Dear MoveOn member,
White supremacy motivated the Buffalo killer who opened fire with the
express purpose of killing Black Americans. Sadly, his terrifying and
deadly ideas are no longer fringe but are rooted in a theory shared by
many Republican leaders and given amplification regularly by the
most-watched cable "news" host on television: Tucker Carlson.^1
Carlson has given voice to the racist, antisemitic conspiracy theory known
as the "great replacement theory" more than 400 times since 2018,
according to an analysis by The New York Times.^2 And in doing so, he's
driven a white supremacist vision into the heart of public Republican
discourse—and given ideological footing for the deranged ideas of the
Buffalo killer.
That's why MoveOn is doubling down right now on efforts to confront Fox
News and Tucker Carlson. In the aftermath of the Buffalo race massacre,
more and more Americans are tuned in to just how dangerous Carlson
is—which is why we need to seize this moment to push Fox into taking away
his megaphone and showing there are consequences for giving hate speech a
home on-air.
Will you join this critical effort and chip in $5 a month to
hold Fox and Carlson accountable—and help us do whatever it takes to get
him and his hate speech off the air?
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in monthly.
[ [link removed] ]No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Carlson's and Fox's outrages are nothing new. They include giving comfort
to the violent insurrectionists, promoting disinformation about COVID-19,
and voicing support for Vladimir Putin at the start of his ruthless
assault on Ukraine.
And The New York Times recently ran a series of articles exposing just how
deep into white supremacy Carlson has reached—and by doing so, just how
broadly he has promoted deeply racist ideas.^3
The white supremacist Buffalo massacre is an alarm bell: The "great
replacement theory" isn't just an idle idea—it is the animus behind the
gunman's actions and contributes to hate speech and violence across the
country.
Confronting this racist ideology of Tucker and the right will need to take
many forms, and there's no one action that will solve this crisis. But
getting Carlson off-air will show there are consequences for promoting
white supremacy and will remove one of the most prominent and prolific
spokespeople normalizing this grotesque theory and using race to divide
Americans.
More than 100,000 MoveOn members have already asked Fox to take Carlson
off the air. This mobilization follows campaigns in which MoveOn members
have joined with allies to demand advertisers pull their ads from his show
and cable providers make Fox optional—a move that would defund their hate
speech and disinformation.
MoveOn is ready to double down on this work, but we need your help in this
moment and then to sustain it, John. Can you chip in
$5 a month to help out?
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in monthly.
[ [link removed] ]No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
The New York Times began its investigative report on Carlson with this
stark statement: "When President Donald J. Trump left office, Mr. Carlson
filled the void on the right."^4
It was a chilling reminder of the power that Carlson holds over not just
right-wing voters but right-wing politicians as well. Prominent elected
officials, including the third-ranking Republican in Congress, are now
parroting these views as Carlson's enormous platform gives permission to
more right-wing leaders to become more public, forceful, and unapologetic
with their hate speech.^5
We cannot allow this virulent racism to continue running our politics, and
we must redouble our efforts to fight against the racism and culture of
white supremacy we experience in our everyday lives—especially when a
prominent voice is pushing such ideology so aggressively and trying to
normalize it in our political discourse.
Taking Carlson off the air is an important step in this process.
Join the fight by chipping in $5 monthly.
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in monthly.
[ [link removed] ]No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Thanks for all you do.
–Justin, Allison, Alexis, Amy, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "The 'great replacement' conspiracy theory isn't fringe anymore, it's
mainstream," NPR, May 17, 2022
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2. "Night after night, the host of the most-watched show in prime-time
cable news uses a simple narrative to instill fear in his viewers: 'They'
want to control and then destroy 'you.'" The New York Times, April 30,
2022
[link removed]
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. "Stefanik echoed racist theory allegedly espoused by Buffalo suspect,"
The Washington Post, May 16, 2022
[link removed]
Want to support our work? Right-wing groups are spending tens of millions
of dollars on TV ads to smear critical progressive legislation. Meanwhile,
donations to progressive groups like MoveOn are plummeting now that a
Democrat is in the White House, meaning we don’t have the resources to
fight back. That's a huge problem, and that's why we urgently need your
support.
Will you chip in to fight right-wing lies and pass urgent legislation to
confront the multiple crises our country faces?
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month.
[ [link removed] ]No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
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