"The assassination of Charlie Kirk has done what years of media fractures couldn't. It forced Fox News to choose between its institutional alliances and the influencer class that increasingly dominates the right and in doing so, to decide whether it would defend mainstream conservatism or surrender the field entirely to conspiracism. Fox & Friends made that choice explicit on Thursday morning, lining up behind Erika Kirk and rebuking the conspiracy theories pushed by Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens."
"Carlson routinely draws millions of views for a monologue on X. His Vladimir Putin interview in February pulled in more viewers in 24 hours than Fox & Friends reaches in a week. Owens commands a younger, digital-first audience legacy media outlets struggle to reach, and she monetizes directly through merch, memberships and platform payouts. Fox, by contrast, remains tied to cable subscriptions and legacy ad structures still massively profitable, but undeniably shrinking."
The assassination of Charlie Kirk forced Fox News to choose between its institutional alliances and the influencer class that dominates the right. Fox & Friends publicly lined up behind Erika Kirk and rebuked conspiracy theories promoted by Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens. The network’s response marked a clear public break with its former primetime star and occurred on Fox News itself. Carlson and Owens attract large digital audiences and monetize through virality, while Fox remains tethered to cable subscriptions and traditional ad revenue. Right-wing media has bifurcated into viral influencers and institutionally credible outlets. Only institutional credibility translates reliably into political power, and the assassination accelerated this split.
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