Following the cable news host’s announcement that he was developing a new version of his show on the platform, Twitter CEO Elon Musk stated Tuesday afternoon that the platform had not inked any kind of agreement with Tucker Carlson.
“On this platform, unlike the one-way street of broadcast, people are able to interact, critique and refute whatever is said,” Musk said. “And, of course, anything misleading will get @CommunityNotes.”
“I also want to be clear that we have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever,” Musk added. “Tucker is subject to the same rules & rewards of all content creators. Rewards means subscriptions and advertising revenue share (coming soon), which is a function of how many people subscribe and the advertising views associated with the content.”
Carlson has yet to be released from his contract with Fox News, which has a non-compete clause that keeps him out of the media until January 2025, so Musk’s claim that the firm has not inked a deal with him is significant.
Musk urged users to create content on the site, even those on the political Left.
On this platform, unlike the one-way street of broadcast, people are able to interact, critique and refute whatever is said.
And, of course, anything misleading will get @CommunityNotes.
I also want to be clear that we have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever. Tucker is… https://t.co/0TMjuYnKUp
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2023
After it had been rumored at the beginning of the week that Carlson and Musk discussed perhaps collaborating, Carlson made his announcement.
“Starting soon, we’ll be bringing a new version of the show we’ve been doing for the last six and a half years to Twitter,” Carlson said in his announcement video. “We’ll be bringing some other things too, which we’ll tell you about. But for now, we’re just grateful to be here. Free speech is the main right that you have, without it, you have no others. See you soon.”
“There aren’t many platforms left that allow free speech. The last big one remaining in the world, the only one, is Twitter, where we are now,” Carlson also stated in his return announcement.
Before Carlson made the statement, his attorney Bryan Freedman wrote to Viet Dinh and Irena Briganti of Fox, accusing the network of fraud and violation of a contract.
According to Axios, the letter positions Carlson to argue that the non-compete clause in his contract is no longer legitimate, allowing him to launch the show or a new media firm.
According to the letter, “Rupert Murdoch himself” betrayed Carlson’s trust by breaking pledges “intentionally and with reckless disregard for the truth.” According to Axios, the letter accuses Dinh and Murdoch of giving Carlson “material representations,” or promises, that were willfully broken, which amounts to fraud.
