Fox News’ Twitter account has been dark since Nov. 8.
The last tweet from the account had to do with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.
BREAKING: Federal appeals court rules against Trump administration on DACA https://t.co/KHnrNvEKAM
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 8, 2018
After coverage of the Thousand Oaks shooting and Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s fall, Fox News’ Twitter account went silent. As Mediaite reported, the Fox Business account is similarly silent, having posted only a handful of tweets Friday then gone dark over the weekend.
Why has the Fox News Twitter account gone dark?
Both Mediaite and Business Insider report that the social media accounts are dark in response the way Twitter handled protests against Tucker Carlson, the Fox News host who espouses fear-mongering rhetoric about immigrants on his show, Tucker Carlson Tonight.
On the night of Nov. 7, around 20 activists from Smash Racism D.C. convened at the news anchor’s home to call him out for “promoting hate” and “an ideology that has led to thousands of people dying,” according to the Washington Post.
Carlson was not at home at the time; his wife was home alone and, thinking she was dealing with a home invasion, called the police.
The activists were protesting Carlson’s rhetoric around immigration and minorities, in particular, the way he has covered the caravan of asylum seekers and migrants headed to the southern border.
Both Facebook and Twitter have removed tweets and videos related to the event, although the Post reports that protesters had tweeted Carlson’s home address, as well as his brother’s.
Business Insider reported Saturday that they had obtained an email from a Fox News employee that advised employees not to post to the official accounts, nor to post news stories to their personal accounts.
“Please refrain from tweeting out our content from either section accounts or your own accounts until further notice,” Fox News managing editor Greg Wilson reportedly wrote in the email.
Fox News alleges that Twitter did not respond quickly to complaints from the network that Smash Racism D.C. had posted Carlson’s home address on the platform. Instead, they say Twitter support had them submit a support ticket. Facebook, where Fox is still posting its stories, apparently responded promptly to Fox’s complaints. Twitter has banned Smash Racism D.C.’s account.
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