Carlson has been itching for a return to the general public scene since his ouster from Fox, in accordance with folks in his circle.
It was not instantly clear how Carlson determined to carry his content material to Twitter. However a video Carlson posted to platform in late April, days after his firing, amassed greater than 80 million views, in accordance with Twitter’s public view counts, which galvanized Carlson and folks in his orbit.
Twitter proprietor Elon Musk tweeted late Tuesday that there was no take care of Carlson, and he urged folks from either side of the political spectrum to hitch the positioning.
“On this platform, not like the one-way road of broadcast, individuals are capable of work together, critique and refute no matter he or anybody might say,” he mentioned.
On this platform, not like the one-way road of broadcast, individuals are capable of work together, critique and refute no matter he or anybody might say.
And, after all, something deceptive will get @CommunityNotes.
I additionally wish to be clear that we now have not signed a deal of any variety…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) Could 9, 2023
Carlson is able to stroll away from cash that Fox nonetheless contractually owes him, in accordance with an individual with information of his considering, to flee a noncompete clause that may preserve him off the air by the tip of 2024 — and rupture his connection along with his viewers, he believes. The identical particular person mentioned the contract doesn’t depend digital or streaming initiatives as off-limits.
However no exit deal has been finalized with the community, and Carlson appears able to escalate his battle with Fox. Carlson lawyer Bryan Freedman despatched a letter to Fox executives on Tuesday accusing the corporate of fraud and breach of contract, and arguing that the noncompete is null and void, The Washington Publish has confirmed. The letter was first reported by Axios.
Carlson provided no particulars about how this present would function or when it will seem. Twitter and Musk didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Musk has tried aggressively to monetize the positioning, leaning closely right into a subscription mannequin and charging $8 for the signature blue checks that used to indicate verification.
As a part of these efforts, Musk has additionally sought to steer journalists to put up solely to Twitter. Journalist Matt Taibbi, who revealed parts of the Musk-backed “Twitter Recordsdata” sequence outlining Twitter’s interactions with the U.S. authorities through the years, introduced final month he would stay at Substack — after Musk restricted posts from the e-newsletter platform following Substack’s launch of a Twitter clone.
With a imaginative and prescient of turning Twitter into a house for native content material from writers and public figures, Musk has launched a subscription button permitting customers to pay creators a payment for unique content material. However whereas Musk’s personal Twitter feed gives a subscription button — customers will pay $4 a month to obtain bonus content material from him — Carlson’s profile didn’t embody an choice to subscribe as of Tuesday.
In Musk’s Tuesday tweet, which was in reply to Tucker’s tweeted video, Musk mentioned something deceptive will probably be labeled with group notes, Twitter’s user-supported function for including crucial context or correcting factual errors.
“I additionally wish to be clear that we now have not signed a deal of any variety in any respect,” he mentioned. “Tucker is topic to the identical guidelines & rewards of all content material creators,” including that rewards are subscriptions and advertising-revenue share.
“I hope that many others, significantly from the left, additionally select to be content material creators on this platform,” he added.
Carlson — who, shortly earlier than his firing, interviewed Musk on his present and had a briefing from Twitter tech workers concerning the website’s moneymaking alternatives — didn’t remark. However the three-minute video posted Tuesday served as one thing of an commercial for Musk’s Twitter.
“Amazingly, as of tonight, there aren’t many platforms left that permit free speech,” Carlson says within the video. “The final massive one remaining on the earth — the one one — is Twitter. … Twitter just isn’t a partisan website. All people’s allowed right here. And we expect that’s factor.”
Representatives for Fox Information and mother or father firm Fox Corp. didn’t present touch upon whether or not Carlson’s plan to relaunch the present suggests he has agreed to an exit settlement from the community.
Carlson’s contract with Fox runs by the tip of 2024, although an individual near Carlson informed The Publish final week that he may settle for much less cash than he’s owed to have the ability to get again into the media recreation earlier than then.
A brand new model of Carlson’s private web site trumpets his return — “TUCKER IS BACK” — and consists of an possibility for followers to join updates about him. On the homepage, Carlson is pictured sporting a checkered, button-down shirt and holding a gun.