Conservative columnist and Bulwark editor-in-chief Charlie Sykes has penned a letter to former Speaker Paul Ryan, who is currently on the Fox corporate board.
In the letter, posted in Politico Magazine, Sykes explains that something must be done to stop the racism and lies being spewed under the name of the conservative network.
"Unlike most of the rest of us, you are in a position to do something about it. And if you ever hope to have influence on the direction of either the network or the conservative movement, this is the moment to speak up," wrote Sykes. He assumed Paul's influence based on the board position but also that even former President Donald Trump tweeted about Ryan's power at the network.
"Honestly, I don't know if you have made an attempt to steer Fox News at all," Sykes confessed. "Maybe you think your responsibility is merely to the corporate bottom-line. But if you have ever thought of having any influence, the recent drift of Fox News deeper into the dark waters of raw racism and disinformation, makes this question especially urgent: if not now, when?"
It's clear that Ryan knows what Fox News host Tucker Carlson has said. Presumably, Ryan has also heard about Carlson's impact on vaccine skepticism, which appears to have been brought about by an inability to google some of his "bad-faith questions," according to John Oliver.
Sykes noted that Carlson has defended QAnon conspiracy theories, he's attacked members of congress for having immigrant backgrounds and then "embraced the so-called replacement theory."
"This is not a partisan talking point; we may now end up counting the consequences in lost human lives," Sykes closed. "And all the while, you have stayed silent. After your interview with Cheney, CNN's Oliver Darcy pointedly asked when you will 'speak out about the rhetoric" that you are "quite literally profiting off of?' Why not now? What brighter red lines could possibly be crossed? If this isn't the moment to draw your own line, what would be? If you want to make a difference, isn't this the moment? If you want to change your legacy, isn't this the time?"
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