ADL Asks Lachlan Murdoch to Cancel Tucker
Carlson's Jan. 6 Documentary on Fox Nation
BY TORIA
BARNHART ON 10/28/21 AT 8:41 PM EDT
The
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is the latest entity to slam Tucker Carlson's new
Fox Nation series Patriot Purge for statements made in the documentary.
The
documentary series, which is available for streaming on November 1, focuses on
the January 6 Capitol Riot. In an October 28 letter to Fox Corporation CEO
Lachlan Murdoch, Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO and national director of the ADL,
encouraged Murdoch to cancel the show over claims about the insurrection.
The letter
argues that Carlson and a number of other "disinformation artists"
who were interviewed for the piece made suggestions that the insurrection was a
"false flag" and that the "Left is hunting the Right, sticking
them in Guantanamo Bay ... leaving them there to rot."
"Let's
call this what it is: an abject, indisputable lie and a blatant attempt to
rewrite history. As an organization committed to fighting antisemitism and all
forms of hate, we remain deeply concerned that the false narrative and wild
conspiracy theories presented by Carlson will sow further division and has the
potential to animate violence," Greenblatt wrote.
He said
that he felt compelled to write Murdoch to express "deep alarm about the
dangerous misinformation" that the news corporation allows Carlson to
express on the Fox network.
The ADL, an
organization that fights bigotry and monitors hate groups, reported that they
believe Carlson's "embrace and amplification of white supremacist talking
points" encourages extremists to take action and strengthens their
movements.
"We
know this because we have been at the forefront of tracking extremism for
decades," the letter said. "We have seen, over and over again, the
consequences of such unhinged conspiratorial rhetoric -- from Pittsburgh to
Poway to El Paso. These heinous acts of violence were spurred, in part, by many
of the same false grievances Carlson espouses each and every night."
Greenblatt
questioned whether the piece could even be considered a documentary and said
that by airing it, Murdoch is "giving license to yet another conspiracy
theory: that January 6 was an inside job with the intention of rounding up and
imprisoning conservatives."
He argued
that as the head of a well-established news organization, Murdoch needs to find
where he draws the line for himself and Fox.
"How
many more people need to die or how many individuals must subscribe to
groundless conspiracies before you say enough is enough? Inflammatory rhetoric
of this sort is neither legitimate political discourse nor spirited
debate," Greenblatt wrote. "It is dangerous rhetoric that could
catalyze violence, whether directed at the Jewish community or other minority
groups."
Drawing on
the long history that the Fox CEO has with the ADL, Greenblatt encouraged him to
reconsider the programming.
The ADL
concluded that while Carlson has the right to make "outrageous
claims," the freedom of speech is not equal to the freedom of reach.
Greenblatt encouraged Murdoch not to validate Carlson's controversial views by
giving him airtime and even suggested Murdoch has a moral responsibility to do
so.
Carlson has
drawn bipartisan backlash for Patriot Purge since announcing the documentary,
primarily over its "false flag" claim that the January 6 attack on
the U.S. Capitol was secretly organized by the government.
The
controversial Fox News host touted the three-part series as a "Tucker
Carlson Original," and stated that he believes it will answer remaining
questions about the day plus the "new war" that was launched on
Americans by prosecuting those who participated in the insurrection.
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