Leaked chat messages show members of white supremacist group Identity Evropa are obsessed with Tucke

[demmiblue]

Chats show extremists claim Carlson has “done more for” white supremacists than they “could ever hope to.”



A trove of leaked chat messages reportedly from members of white supremacist group Identity Evropa shows the group’s appreciation for Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Members praised segments from Tucker Carlson Tonight and fantasized about the idea of him running for president someday.

On March 6, the nonprofit media organization Unicorn Riot released chat logs from a Discord server reportedly used by members of Identity Evropa, a group attempting to sanitize white supremacy by rebranding its racist beliefs as pro-white “identitarianism.” The chat server’s name, “Nice Respectable People Group,” reflects Identity Evropa’s focus on “optics,” a strategy of intentionally rebranding away from obvious extremism to avoid the negative press that supposedly keeps their ideas from appealing to the mainstream.

Media Matters reviewed hundreds of chat messages containing mentions of Carlson -- who extremists refer to with familiarity as “Tuck” or “Tucker” -- and can confirm that the white supremacists routinely turn on Fox News to watch him deliver messages aligned with their extremist cause. They see Carlson’s prime-time audience as an effective opportunity to rebrand themselves and get positive media coverage for their extremism.

Users in the leaked chats shared a Media Matters video that shows how closely Carlson’s rhetoric aligns with that of white supremacists like American Renaissance’s Jared Taylor (a point extremists have made as well), with users asking, “Where’s the lie?” and calling the video a “red-pill compilation” (the phrase “red-pilling,” a reference to the movie The Matrix, is far-right shorthand for radicalizing).

https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2019/03/08/leaked-chat-messages-show-members-white-supremacist-group-identity-evropa-are-obsessed-tucker/223083

[calimary]

1. He's just desperate to carve out a big TV identity for himself.

GOTTA make sure he stands out - what with Laura Ingraham and that-guy-whose-name-rhymes-with-VANITY sucking up all the oxygen in prime time.

[Drum]

2. Jon Stewart took him down...

from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossfire_(U.S._TV_program)#Jon_Stewart's_appearance

Jon Stewart's appearance
On October 15, 2004, Jon Stewart, then host of The Daily Show appeared on the program to promote his book America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction. He used his appearance on the show to raise criticisms of the format of Crossfire and the style of arguments presented on the show. He said the program failed its responsibility to the public discourse and indulged in partisan hackery, reducing news coverage of important issues to a series of talking points from both extremes of the political spectrum: "It's hurting America. Here is what I wanted to tell you guys: Stop. You have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably."[6][7]

Carlson countered Stewart's criticisms by reading examples of questions Stewart had asked of then-presidential candidate John Kerry during his recent interview on The Daily Show, such as, "How are you holding up?" and "Have you ever flip-flopped?" Stewart argued that unlike Carlson and Begala he was a comedian, not a journalist, and therefore it was not his role to conduct hard-hitting interviews. Begala defended the show on the basis that it was intended as a forum for debate, to which Stewart responded that calling Crossfire a debate show was "like saying pro wrestling is a show about athletic competition."[8] During the exchange, Carlson told Stewart, "I do think you're more fun on your show. Just my opinion," to which Stewart replied, "You know what's interesting, though? You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show."[9]

Following his appearance, transcripts and live stream footage were released on the Internet and widely watched and discussed. At a time when the average number of viewers of the show was about 615,000, the episode drew 867,000 viewers.[10] Stewart later stated "It really was not my intent to be disruptive. I truly thought we'd have a goof about how terrible the program is at the top, and move on, but... the combination of their obstinance and my low blood sugar led to no bueno."[11]

Cancellation

An older logo of the series
In January 2005, the new president and CEO of CNN Jonathan Klein, announced the cancellation of Crossfire. Klein also announced that they would not be renewing Carlson's contract. Carlson claimed it was he who had chosen to leave, to take a job at MSNBC.[12] In the news release containing the announcement, Klein indicated that he wanted to change the tone of shows on the network, and in interviews said he sympathized with Jon Stewart's criticisms of Crossfire.[13] Klein claimed he "wanted to move CNN away from what he called 'head-butting debate shows'."[14] The last episode aired on June 3, 2005 and the Crossfire pundits began appearing on Inside Politics the following Monday before relocating to that show's successor, The Situation Room. However, the GWU Crossfire set remained in use for the CNN weekend program On The Story, which had an audience interaction format.

[IluvPitties]

3. Tucker is one of them.

[FailureToCommunicate]

4. I clicked on this before knowing it was about Tucker Jazz Hands Carlson. Now I need to go use

some bleach.