Fox News host Tucker Carlson spent his Monday night broadcast railing against “Western” media, including The New York Times and Bloomberg, claiming the outlets are “cheering on” the killings of white South African farmers.
Commentator Tucker Carlson claimed hundreds of white South African farmers have been killed in recent years, despite data showing murders in South Africa are actually down. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“Instead of protecting the farmers, the government of South Africa has worked to change it’s country’s laws to seize their land without compensation,” Carlson argued. “Skin color is a central motivation here; nobody denies that. Let’s be clear about what’s happening.”
The conservative commentator claimed that “hundreds” of white farmers have been murdered in recent years as a result of racist violence comparable to the horrors of apartheid.
“The difference is at this time; the western media are cheering it on,” he added. “Bloomberg has published articles suggesting that race-based land seizures will somehow supercharge the South African economy, when, of course, the opposite is exact. Zimbabwe tried that and became the poorest country in the world — but whatever. Nobody in American journalism wants to hear about it.”
Carlson then mentioned a New York Times article featuring a profile on South African farmer Stefan Schmidt, who said he was intimidated into selling his land to the government after it was overrun by an angry mob. Four men reportedly shot the farmer dead in his home earlier this week.
“Despite that, the Times once again concluded that it’s, quote, “false” to say that farm murders are a real problem,” Carlson opined.
This isn’t the first time the Fox News host has spouted conspiracies about the “plight” of white farmers in South Africa. Last year, President Donald Trump drew the ire of the international community when he tweeted about the alleged “large-scale killings” of farmers, parroting a false report he’d seen on Carlson’s show.
A representative for the U.S. Embassy reported in 2018 that total murders in South Africa are actually down, and that farm murders specifically are the lowest they’ve been in 20 years.
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