Left: Janos Kummer/Getty Images, Right: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogu
- Tucker Carlson announced on Tuesday that he would bring his show to Twitter.
- The host was fired last month from Fox News shortly after it settled Dominion's defamation lawsuit.
- The median age of Twitter users is much younger than that of Fox News viewers, reports show.
Tucker Carlson is officially moving to Twitter, but whether his loyal — and older — Fox fans will follow is yet to be seen.
In leaked behind-the-scenes tapes of his former show "Tucker Carlson Tonight" released by watchdog group Media Matters for America, the 53-year-old host made sexist comments, promoted well-known misogynist influencer Andrew Tate, and called his fans "post-menopausal."
Though crudely made, the comments reflect that Fox News brings in an older demographic. But for a former TV host looking to build a devoted following on Twitter on par with the one he had at Fox, that may be a problem.
Carlson, who was ousted on April 24, announced Tuesday that he was bringing a "new version" of his show to Twitter. In a video, Carlson touted the social media platform to his seven million followers as a place of "free speech."
A tweet of Carlson's announcement has nearly half a million likes, and conservative politicians and influencers, from Lauren Boebert to Kid Rock, celebrated the move.
However, Carlson is entering a new market with an age demographic that does not reflect that of his previous viewers. Back at Fox News, the median age of an average viewer was 65, according to Nielsen ratings.
A Pew Research study shows a stark difference: The median age of a Twitter user is 40.
There's also a difference in the political leanings of Twitter. Carlson's brand is built on right-wing and white supremacist talking points, but nearly 70% of Twitter's most active users are left-leaning, according to a 2020 study from the Pew Research Center.
Carlson, however, may still be able to find his audience now that Twitter is in the hands of Elon Musk, who acquired the platform in late 2022.
Musk insists that his politics are at the center and even encouraged content creators "from the left" to follow in Carlson's footsteps and create their own shows on Twitter. However, after Musk's reinstatement of many previously banned conservative accounts, the suspension of left-wing accounts, and the promotion of conspiracy theories and white supremacist talking points, experts previously told Insider that it's clear that Musk is using the platform to amplify right-wing and extremist viewpoints.
"I think he's intentionally empowering right-wing extremists," J.M. Berger, a researcher on extremism on social media like Twitter, told Insider in December. "Any argument that he's trying to empower the center is patently bullshit and should be treated as such."
Representatives for Carlson did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
from Business Insider https://ift.tt/AD9uOtR
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