Summary

UPDATE as of March 9, 2023 : Just hours after this lesson was published, the AP published this story: Tucker Carlson’s scorn for Trump revealed in defamation lawsuit filings . Discuss with your students how Tucker Carlson's text messages about Donald Trump and 2020 election fraud differ greatly from what he says as Fox News host, including the following from the AP story:

Carlson said that “we are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights” and that “I truly can’t wait.”

Carlson said he had no doubt there was fraud in the 2020 election, but that Trump and his lawyers had so discredited their case — and media figures like himself — “that it’s infuriating. Absolutely enrages me.”

... In another text exchange more than a month earlier, Carlson denigrated Trump’s business abilities: Trump’s talent, he said, is to 'destroy things. He could easily destroy us if we play it wrong.'

What do you think Carlson means when he says Trump "could easily destroy us if we play it wrong"? March 8 lesson summary : Federal and state officials, courts, exhaustive reviews in battleground states and Trump’s attorney general found no widespread fraud that could have changed the outcome of the 2020 election, although Trump continues to falsely state that the presidency was stolen from him. Fox personality Tucker Carlson this week is releasing security video from the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol, using footage provided exclusively to him by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, to falsely portray the riot as a peaceful gathering. James Sasso, who served as senior investigative counsel for the Jan. 6 committee, joins Geoff Bennett to discuss. For a transcript of this story, click here . News wrap alternative : Check out the latest segments from the NewsHour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching! You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.

Five Facts

• Who is James Sasso? What investigative team was he on?


• What happened on Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol?


• Why did NewsHour call Tucker Carlson a "personality" if he hosts a news show?


• Where and When was the Jan. 6 insurrection?


• How did the Jan. 6 videos shared by the Jan. 6 committee differ greatly from what Fox News shared?

Focus Questions

Why does it matter that Fox News is putting out misinformation about Jan. 6? Why do so many Fox viewers believe Tucker Carlson when the videos he showed were clearly edited leaving out the violence that took place on Jan. 6? Media literacy : Why do you think the NewsHour chose to interview someone who was part of the investigative team into the Jan. 6 attack? Alternative : See, Think, Wonder : What did you notice? What did the story make you think? What story would you want to find out more about? Where would you go to learn more?

For More

What students can do : Talk to a family member or friend about their thoughts on the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Why did Americans commit violence against each other on Jan. 6 instead of conducting a regular protest?

Student Video of the Day

What does democracy look like in the wake of the U.S. Capitol attack? via Student Reporting Labs

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