The Fox News Channel and all their associated accounts on Twitter (Fox Business, Fox News Research, etc.) haven’t sent out a single tweet since November 9th, and it’s not just a coincidence. While some initially speculated that Fox’s accounts were compromised, in reality, they’re boycotting the website for how they handled the harassment of Tucker Carlson. Namely, Fox’s issue is with Twitter allowing Antifa-associated accounts to spread the personal address of Carlson and his brother right as masked lunatics were rioting outside his house.
According to Mediaite:
“A source at Fox News told Mediaite the network’s social media shut-down is a response to the protestors that mobbed the home of Tucker Carlson on [last] Wednesday night. ‘[This] is a conscious decision in light of what was done to Tucker,’ the source said. They suggested Twitter was fostering a dangerous climate and was not responsive to requests to remove content that targeted the Fox News host.”
According to source, Facebook was prompt when alerted to posts that included his home address. Twitter support reportedly told Fox to “open a ticket” and did not remove the posts.
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) November 10, 2018
Tucker Carlson also hasn’t tweeted (but other Fox personalities are still posting to their accounts regularly).
Left-wing conspiracy theorists see something sinister
There’s no shortage of liberal conspiracy theorists who think Fox News stopped tweeting because they’re somehow in some sort of trouble. Here’s a sampling of the craziness:
@TheRickWilson – I got a little something more. Speculative analysis, but noteworthy. Fox News still uses FB…
whereas WikiLeaks, Drudge, and National Enquirer have gone silent on BOTH Twitter and Facebook since 11/9.
Fox boycott could be manufactured to distract from this.
— ArsonCrafts (@visionsurreal) November 13, 2018
@foxnews @wikileaks @RudyGiuliani went dark on Twitter on 9/10 Nov. Matt @drudge has now deleted all tweets. Fox News website strangely scrubbed of most pro-Trump content. Is it about to be Mueller time? *Don’t believe the alt-right propaganda it’s just a boycott. #KremlinAnnex pic.twitter.com/yDJrekADhb
— Martin Walsh (@martinwalsh) November 13, 2018
This Fox News “boycott” of Twitter feels like a huge lie. https://t.co/r5YTWicPYk
— 🏝Kim (@kim) November 12, 2018
Fox News is still posting to their Facebook accounts regularly, however, so there’s no reason to doubt that they really are just boycotting twitter.
Does the Fox boycott matter?
Whether Twitter would like to admit it or not (as their corporate culture is overwhelmingly liberal), Fox’s presence on their platform is a major asset to them, boasting over 20 million combined followers across associated accounts. So-called Trumpism as a whole has been lucrative for their platform, with one study last year estimating that Donald Trump’s Twitter account alone adds $2 billion in value to Twitter’s market value. If that’s Trump’s value, certainly it’ll cost Twitter a pretty-penny when the only major news network that’s pro-Trump goes dark.
Fox’s Twitter boycott entered its fifth day today, and there’s no hint as to when it’ll end, or what would cause Fox to resume using the platform.
