Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and the serpent: Why their lies work - opinion

The article critiques the "woke Right" figures like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, arguing that their widely publicized tactics, often presented as new, are in fact based on historical manipulation and deliberate falsehoods. The author contends that these figures employ a set of ideological tendencies and manipulative strategies that are far from novel.

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Winston Churchill, one of the greatest heroes of the 20th century who worked to take down Nazi Germany and rebuild Europe after WWII, was, according to Cooper, “responsible for [that] war becoming what it did,” he said to a largely passive Tucker Carlson. “Something other than an invasion of Poland.”

A specific instance highlighted involves Tucker Carlson's interview with Deryl Cooper, a Nazi apologist. During the conversation, Cooper claimed Winston Churchill bore central responsibility for World War II, a statement the article labels as ahistorical and a deliberate attempt to soften Nazi Germany's image. Cooper also suggested that the deaths in Nazi camps were due to a lack of planning, a claim the author refutes as a euphemism that erases the systematic extermination of Jews and other targeted groups.

The author emphasizes Carlson's role in this exchange, noting his lack of challenge to Cooper's claims and his interjections that appeared to corroborate the narratives. This passive, yet complicit, stance is interpreted as an endorsement of the distorted historical accounts. The article points out that Carlson's characteristic facial expressions and silence further signal his agreement with the guest's controversial statements.

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This is not a slip. "Local political prisoners" is a euphemism that erases the fact that the victims were overwhelmingly Jews, Roma, and the disabled, targeted for who they were, not what they did.

Furthermore, the piece criticizes the use of euphemisms like "local political prisoners" to obscure the genocidal nature of the Holocaust. The author argues that such language directly contradicts documented evidence of the Third Reich's meticulous planning of the extermination of European Jews. The article suggests that by platforming and failing to challenge these narratives, Carlson contributes to the spread of dangerous historical revisionism.

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If the only times Carlson speaks are to corroborate Cooper’s claims, and otherwise it is almost complete silence from the ex-Fox News anchor, it does effectively signal an endorsement.