The Ideas Behind the Buffalo Massacre Are Now Mainstream on the Right

Will Tucker Carlson face any consequences?

Just two days after a racist right-wing teenager spouting the Fox News host’s beloved “great replacement” theory—that Democrats and “elites” are working to replace white Americans with immigrants of color, echoed by Carlson on his show at least 400 times—murdered at least 10 people in Buffalo, N.Y., Carlson’s employer is facing its annual “upfronts” meeting to convince media buyers to place ads with Fox, including on Carlson’s show.

Will it work? I’d like to say that advertisers will rebel, but I can’t. As The New York Times revealed in one of its best investigations in recent years, consumer pressure has reduced the number of ads run on Carlson’s show—and yet the revenue has doubled. The folks invested in racism are super-invested—the viewers, but also advertisers. I have no reason to believe that will change after the Buffalo massacre. But we can dream.