Here’s how you can take action to hold Tucker Carlson accountable

If you really want to hold Tucker Carlson accountable, join #UnFoxMyCableBox

On March 14’s Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver documented at length the white identity politics of Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Watch:

Media Matters has documented Carlson’s white nationalism at length. Additionally, as noted by Oliver, Media Matters has previously published tapes of Carlson spewing racism and misogyny on Bubba the Love Sponge’s radio show.

But in addition to what Oliver highlighted, there are some steps that people can take today to help hold Carlson accountable -- and the third is the most important of all.

Contact Tucker Carlson’s advertisers.

You can see Tucker Carlson’s leading advertisers and their contact information here.

There are advertisers that sponsor Carlson’s white nationalism. We’ve listed them here, along with their contact information.

But the truth of the matter is that over the years, Carlson has lost many of his blue-chip advertisers. For instance: Last summer, he lost numerous major advertisers after his bigoted rants about Black Lives Matter.

What’s left is mostly die-hards and ideological supporters, led by MyPillow. MyPillow’s CEO is far-right conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell, who appeared on Carlson’s show recently to pitch debunked conspiracy theories about Dominion Voting Systems and the 2020 election. The appearance was eventually mentioned in Dominion’s lawsuit against Lindell.

There are still companies that should be contacted and pressured about their support for Carlson’s show, like the pharmaceutical companies that are underwriting Carlson’s attacks on COVID-19 vaccines.

Contact Fox News’ advertisers.

You can see Fox News’ leading advertisers and contact information for them here.

Of late, Carlson has shown up all over the rest of Fox News; in essence, he has become the network’s assignment editor, with its so-called “straight news” programs running dozens of segments jumping off his commentary. (This approach ramped up after Newsmax made ratings gains against Fox shortly after the election by aggressively challenging Fox’s acknowledgment that Joe Biden won the presidential election.) Fox’s streaming app, Fox Nation, is also promising additional Tucker Carlson content. Really, an entire wing of Fox Corp. is being centered around Carlson’s bigotry and conspiracy theories.

Even before all of that happened, the network’s essence was conspiracy theories, bigotry, and propaganda. It’s just intensified since the election, with Carlson at the core.

And unlike his show, which has lost blue-chip advertisers, the overall network still has big-name advertisers -- which claim to hold values diametrically opposed to Carlson’s.

But the sad truth is that even if Fox News lost all its advertisers, it would still remain profitable.

Sign up for the #UnFoxMyCableBox effort.

Join the #UnFoxMyCableBox effort here.

If you really want to know who funds Tucker Carlson’s bigotry, the truth is that it’s people like you and me. When you pay your cable bill, a portion goes to the various channels that you receive. Fox News received roughly $20 per year apiece from most cable news subscribers, regardless of whether they actually watch the channel. That’s way more than its competitors CNN and MSNBC.

This unfair advantage means Fox News would be wildly profitable even if every single advertiser pulled its ads.

But we’re at a key leverage point: Many of these agreements with cable companies are expiring and being renegotiated. The more people who join together to say that they don’t want their money going to Fox News, the more leverage cable companies will have to rebuff Fox’s demands. That’s why we started the #UnFoxMyCableBox effort -- to build a coalition of people who can speak up about being forced to fund hate like Carlson’s.

You can read more about this effort  — and add your name — here.