In an explosive monologue on his primetime show on Friday, Tucker Carlson listed a number of high-profile conservative think tanks and other organizations that he says are funded by the far-left Big Tech companies, as The Daily Caller reports.
The Fox News host explained how Big Tech companies, despite showing clear biases against conservatives, have faced little to no retribution for their acts of censorship and deplatforming due to “special immunity they received from Congress that protects them from lawsuits” over such matters. Although some such as Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) have proposed antitrust action to break up such monopolies, there has been significant pushback from the Washington, D.C. elite.
Carlson’s bombshell was a comprehensive report detailing how up to 22 conservative think tanks and prominent organizations in D.C. had either taken money from Big Tech or publicly voiced support for Big Tech, most of which are funded by the Koch family. These include American for Prosperity, the American Conservative Union, the American Legislative Council, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and the Mercatus Center, among others.
Carlson focused on the Heritage Foundation in particular, which has consistently been ranked as the most influential think tank in not only America, but the entire world. Carlson pointed to a paper published by Heritage which criticized possible antitrust actions against Big Tech, and instead advocated for conservatives simply creating “their own Google” instead.
“They make deals with people who hate you,” Carlson said, “secretly sell out your interests, then beg you to tithe like it’s the medieval church. That’s the system we’ve had for decades…you wonder how much longer this can continue.”
Heritage eventually responded in a long-form piece for their publication, The Daily Signal, which called Carlson’s segment “incredibly disappointing,” and called his accusations “false, outrageous, and unfounded.” They also defended their stance on Big Tech by saying that they “have always been champions of the free market and critics of government intervention,” while also pointing to numerous occasions in recent years where Heritage has been critical of Big Tech. The statement ended by saying that they “won’t be intimidated or bullied as we continue to represent the interests of conservatives and all Americans.”