NBC correspondent Tom Costello expressed concern responding to Carlson’s announcement that he planned to bring a similar version of his popular show back to Twitter in the near future. He said that Twitter will not “police” Fox News host Tucker Carlson, saying that it is “crazy” on the platform.
Costello made the comments during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” He was asked about Carlson’s recent comments about the January 6th Capitol riot, in which he said that the rioters were “ordinary citizens” who were “expressing their frustration.”
“Twitter was already under fire for misinformation, disinformation, all-out lies, anti-Semitism, racism before Elon Musk took over and now it’s gotten kind of crazy, right? Seemingly unmoored, if you will,” Costello began.
Costello asked, “Will anybody be able to police what Carlson says? Or is this the point? It’s just a free-for-all?”
Brian Stelter, an anchor CNN fired who constantly is critical of Fox News, quickly agreed that having no rules appeared to be the point, saying, “It is a free-for-all, it’s what Elon Musk wants to provide. This move by Tucker may cement the idea of Twitter as a Right-wing website, and we see some users trying to go off to other sites instead.”
These comments come as Twitter is facing increasing scrutiny over its content moderation policies. The company has been criticized for allowing hate speech and misinformation to spread on its platform.
“Twitter needs to do more to police its platform,” Costello said. “They need to be more transparent about their content moderation policies. And they need to be more willing to take action against users who spread misinformation and lies.”
Carlson said that he wanted to take his show to Twitter because he believed it to be one of the few places where free speech was truly allowed — and even valued — and because Twitter as a platform did not take political sides.
NBC’s reaction to Tucker Carlson’s Twitter show announcement: “Will anybody be able to police what Carlson says or is this the point? It’s just a free for all?”
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) May 10, 2023
