Tucker Carlson has shared the response he purportedly sent a New York Times reporter who asked him to comment on a story that alleged some of Carlson’s social content contained election misinformation.
Carlson shared screenshots of what appeared to be text messages between him and the reporter on his X account on Monday.
The sender, who was saved in Carlson’s phone as “Nico,” identified themselves as Nico Grant, a technology correspondent for the New York Times.
The initial text says he is working on an article about “how political commentators have discussed the upcoming election on YouTube” based on data from Media Matters for America, which describes itself as being a “progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.”
According to the text message, the article to be published October 29 would state that researchers found videos posted by Carlson to YouTube containing misinformation. It also would include a clip of Carlson referring to a “clearly stolen” election. The text further asked for comment relating to the monetization of Carlson’s YouTube content.
Tucker Carlson speaks at the Turning Point Action campaign rally at the Gas South Arena alongside Donald Trump on October 25, 2024. Carlson shared a conversation on X that he had with a New York Times reporter over text, showing the moment he told the journalist to “f*** off.”
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
According to the screenshot, Carlson responded: “So the New York Times is working with a left wing hate group to silence critics of the Democratic Party? Please ask yourself why you’re participating in it. This is why you got into journalism? It’s shameful. I hope you’re filled with guilt and self-loathing for sending me a text like this. Please quote me.”
A reply read, “Thank you for your prompt response. Would you like to address any of the points or questions above?”
Carlson then appeared to respond, “Would I like to participate in your attempt to censor me? No thanks. But I do hope you’ll quote what I wrote above and also note that I told you to f*** off, which I am now doing. Thanks.”
Currently, the last article on Grant’s author page was published October 15. Grant does not appear to have responded on X.
Newsweek has contacted the press team for Tucker Carlson Network via email, and Grant and the New York Times press team via email for comment. Newsweek has also contacted Media Matters for America via email.
Carlson’s post on X received over 6 million views and 164,000 likes. It prompted Elon Musk to comment on the post, “Perfect response.”
Carlson was a host on Fox News until his dismissal in April 2023, and began hosting interviews on Musk-owned X, then known as Twitter.
In August 2023, he streamed a live interview with Donald Trump at the same time as the Republican primary debate on Fox News, which Trump declined to take part in, Reuters reported. In December, he launched his own subscription-based video streaming service, charging $9 a month.
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