Tucker Carlson raising funds for new media venture: report 

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former White House adviser Neil Patel are raising funds for a new media company that likely would use Twitter as its foundation, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.  

People familiar with the matter told the Journal the new company would run on subscriptions for longer versions of the free videos Carlson has been posting on Twitter for free since he was ousted from Fox News earlier this year.  

The shorter videos will still be available for free for users on Twitter and other platforms, with subscriptions required for the longer videos in their entirety, people told the Wall Street Journal.

Fox News announced in April it was parting ways with Carlson, who hosted the 8 p.m. show “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” That announcement was days after the network settled a blockbuster defamation lawsuit.  

Later in June, Carlson started a new show on Twitter called “Tucker on Twitter,” claiming Twitter is the last big remaining platform that allows free speech. Carlson closed his first episode on Twitter stating, “We’re told there are no gatekeepers here. If that turns out to be false, we’ll leave. But in the meantime, we’re grateful to be here.” The episode gained more than 70 million views within the first day.

His show on Twitter has nine episodes to date, including his most recent interview with controversial social media personality Andrew Tate, who was charged in Romania with rape, human trafficking, and forming a criminal gang to exploit women.

Carlson and Patel are reportedly seeking to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for the company. The pair founded the conservative publication The Daily Caller in 2010 and were roommates at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.  

People familiar with the new project said Carlson’s team recently met with Twitter to talk over the endeavor, which would feature a website and mobile app and potentially air on other platforms beyond Twitter.  

Twitter is in a state of change after being purchased by tech billionaire Elon Musk late last year. It is now facing new competition from Threads, launched this month by Meta — the company that operates Facebook and Instagram.

The Associated Press contributed.