A Fox News viewer used an active shooting crisis to call in and sing the praises of ex-Fox host Tucker Carlson.
Carlson formerly hosted his eponymous political talk showTucker Carlson Tonight on the conservative news channel until he was unceremoniously fired from the network on April 24, 2023.
On Tuesday night, Fox anchor Trace Gallagher was reporting on the breaking news of a shooting taking place at Morgan State University in Baltimore when the caller called in claiming to have information.
But the discussion was short-lived when Gallagher realized the caller who identified himself as "Tyrone" was just trolling the network.
Tyrone had initially convinced producers the shooting was over a poker game.
When Gallagher asked Tyrone what exactly transpired, the response had nothing to do with the shooting.
"Well, first we were watching, we all get together every Tuesday night, and we watched Tucker Carlson’s show on X," Tyrone told Gallagher.
He expressed his loyalty towards the ousted Fox News host and said of him:
“We used to watch him on Fox News, obviously he’s not there no more."
"And still being the most incredible guy in the media in America, we always get together to watch Tucker Carlson and think he’s probably doing better now that he’s not with Fox News because the corporate media always controls what the teleprompter readers are able to say.”
You can watch a clip of the trolling call here.
Fox just got pranked by a Tucker Carlson fan and cut the phone interview:— Acyn (@Acyn) 1696391700
Before Tyrone could continue, Gallagher cut him off by thanking him and told viewers:
"Clearly that was not a student at Morgan State University.”
Some on social media mocked Fox for falling for the prank.
@Acyn Imagine being so stupid you fall for something that stupid.— Machine Pun Kelly \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Machine Pun Kelly \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1696392145
@Acyn That producer is soooooo fired— Sashimi Popsicle (@Sashimi Popsicle) 1696395985
@Acyn @DevinCow \u201cTyrone\u201d??? \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\nThis is why you need diversity in the news room. There hasn\u2019t been a Tyrone born since 73\u2019\u2026— G. Dub (@G. Dub) 1696392752
@Acyn @TheRickWilson Anyone who took 5 seconds to talk to that caller would know he was never a student at a HBCU\u2026 but then again, no one at Fox News knows what HBCU stands for \u2026 or that Morgan State would proudly qualify as one. Smh\u2026— R (@R) 1696427361
Others were disgusted that the caller would exploit such a serious situation.
@Acyn I don\u2019t find this funny at all— Sarah Barker \u2721\ufe0f\ud83d\udfe7\ud83d\udfe6\ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Sarah Barker \u2721\ufe0f\ud83d\udfe7\ud83d\udfe6\ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1696412266
@Acyn As deceptive as the network themselves.— Spasticus (@Spasticus) 1696410218
@Acyn I think this is footage of a troll - trolling a disgusting situation.— Larry D (@Larry D) 1696403450
Some people had a hunch the caller was right-wing political commentator and YouTuber Mark Dice.
@RichardTMurtagh @Acyn @MarkDice that's what I thought the second time I heard it. His inflection sounds exactly the same. \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02— Randal McLovin (@Randal McLovin) 1696394619
@Acyn @lukemaciastx That\u2019s @MarkDice . He\u2019s the \ud83d\udca3!— Ernestine Hemingway (@Ernestine Hemingway) 1696427694
It turns out they were right.
Dice responded to the thread by confirming he was the prankster, saying:
"Yeah, that was me who culture jammed Fox News live on air."
"While shootings of any kind are terrible and it’s important to inform the public about a potential danger—cable news always exploits tragedies in order to keep viewers glued to their screens and fill the airtime with anything available to them."
"In this case, some random caller whose name and identity they didn’t even bother to verify before putting on air as someone who supposedly knows what really happened."
Yeah, that was me who culture jammed Fox News live on air. While shootings of any kind are terrible and it\u2019s important to inform the public about a potential danger\u2014cable news always exploits tragedies in order to keep viewers glued to their screens and fill the airtime with\u2026— Mark Dice (@Mark Dice) 1696397487
Five people–four men and one woman–were wounded at the Morgan State University shooting that led to a campus lockdown.
On Wednesday, Police Commissioner Richard Worley told reporters their injuries were not life-threatening.
The shooting happened during homecoming week after the coronation of Mister & Miss Morgan State at the Murphy Fine Arts Center.
No arrests were made.
