Tucker Carlson Did Not Make False Claims About Nebraska Man's Death
The Claim
Tucker Carlson spread misinformation about the death of a Nebraska man.
News posted on
Emerging story
On August 19, social media users began spreading a claim that Fox News host Tucker Carlson said that a 47-year-old Nebraska man who took the COVID vaccine died 12 hours later due to side effects. Users accused Carlson of purposely neglecting to inform listeners of the true cause of death: the man’s car had been hit with a train.
Misbar’s Analysis
Official Fox News transcripts of Carlson’s show reveal that at no time did he discuss the death of a man from Nebraska. An Internet archive also shows that at no time on his airing from the show did Carlson mention a man dying after receiving a vaccine. Furthermore, no mass media source reported on a 47-year-old man being killed by a train on August 10, in Nebraska or any other state.
The allegations stem from a video posted to YouTube by former senator Al Franken. Franken tells listeners he wants to discuss Carlson’s actions from Friday, particularly where he spoke about the 47-year-old supposed train victim.
While Carlson avidly argues against Covid vaccines, he did not make this claim. Why Franken decided to spread this disinformation, or even what his source was, remains unknown. Fox News and Franken have a history of mutual disdain, including a 2003 lawsuit about Franken’s book titled “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right.” But in 2017, after Franken faced resignation for personal transgressions, Carlson said in a fit of poetic empathy, “Enjoy the schadenfreude, the pure animal thrill of watching… but at the same time, ask yourself, what if this happened to you?”
Carlson’s own history of using speculation to cast doubt on Covid vaccines made readers readily accept this idea, as it appealed to their confirmation bias. Still, no evidence exists to believe this is anything other than fake.
