December 18, 2020, 11:26 am
Tucker Carlson decided to rile up his anti-vaxx viewers with his personal feelings on the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine Thursday night, claiming it to be “too slick” and focusing on a single instance of a bad reaction to said vaccine.
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Although the Alaskan health care worker is reportedly doing well under treatment for the reaction, which is always a small risk with vaccines, Carlson used the opportunity to sow doubt.
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Meanwhile, his boss Rupert Murdoch received the vaccine in the U.K. the night before without complaint.
Irony…. Rupert Murdoch Receives #COVID19 Vaccine in U.K.
Meanwhile… Murdoch’s Fox News host Tucker Carlson spouts anti-vaccination nonsense on TV here in US. https://t.co/BkNDHcwAyD
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) December 18, 2020
Carlson went out of his way to frame the entirely voluntary vaccination rollout at government tyranny, claiming that people aren’t allowed to question it and that “our leaders definitely are not pro-choice.” Apparently, for the purpose of that particular show, Carlson thinks being pro-choice is a good thing.
“Their view is do as you are told and don’t complain,” he ranted. “No uncomfortable questions. Those are not just suggestions, they are rules and Silicon Valley aims to enforce them.”
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Aside from in the fantasy world concocted by that one extremely dramatic TikTok user, the U.S. government has in no way made the vaccine mandatory, and neither has Silicon Valley because they don’t have that power.
So far, bad reactions have been exceedingly rare to the point that Carlson had to base this all on a bad feeling he had because surely this is all going too well. He did so while claiming that he and the network have always been totally supportive of vaccines.
“Even if you are strongly supportive of vaccines, and we are, even if you recognize how many millions of lives have been saved over the past 50 years by vaccine, and we do, it all seems a bit much, it feels false, because it is, it’s too slick,” he said.
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He also attacked Facebook for posting information meant to reassure people that the vaccine is quite safe and Twitter for flagging tweets claiming the rollout is a government conspiracy for “population control.” He then took a page out of anti-vaxxer 101 by targeting Bill and Melinda Gates, accusing them of pulling the strings behind the scenes for their nefarious plots.
“So [Melinda Gates] is demanding the tech companies censor anyone who contradicts the official storyline on the COVID vaccine, and she is getting her wish,” said Carlson. “None of this inspires confidence. Censorship will not convince a single person to take the coronavirus vaccine. In fact, it will have the opposite effect.”
Tucker Carlson is so dangerous. Fox News is once again giving air time to conspiracy theories that hurt the health of their audience. https://t.co/ABSg55mrSk
— Amy Siskind
(@Amy_Siskind) December 18, 2020
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The Gates couple has been a primary target of the anti-vaxxer community to the point that they’re basically considered Mr. and Mrs. Satan by those Carlson was catering to last night.
Much of the rest of the U.S. population, who have had to endure the pandemic without access to private jets or lavish underground bunkers, did not appreciate Carlson stirring this particular pot. Especially considering how media mogul Rupert Murdoch received the COVID vaccine the following day:
Rupert Murdoch got the Covid vaccine the day after Tucker Carlson spent his entire show sowing doubt about the Covid vaccine.
— Molly Jong-Fast
(@MollyJongFast) December 18, 2020
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“Tucker Carlson delivered an anti-vaccine rant tonight, which I will not tweet, encouraging millions of people not to trust the COVID vaccine,” wrote activist Judd Legum. “It’s not complicated: This kind of misinformation will kill people. Any corporation that advertises on Tucker Carlson is complicit.”
*First Published: December 18, 2020, 11:26 am
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