Get PolitiFact in your inbox.
No, this isn’t an authentic video of Tucker Carlson speechless before a guest
If Your Time is short
- This video isn’t authentic, according to Fox News.
- We found the original video of Dr. Umar Johnson posted on his YouTube page in July 2021. He wasn’t appearing on Carlson’s show, and we found no evidence that he’s ever appeared on the show.
What looks like a clip from Tucker Carlson’s show on Fox News is being shared online with this description: "This Fox News reporter really wasn’t ready to face the facts!"
The video shows a silent Carlson, his mouth slightly open, as Dr. Umar Johnson, who describes himself as a Pan-Afrikanist and psychologist, appears in the adjacent panel.
"Arabs didn’t build America, Black people built America," Johnson says in the video. "Chinese ain’t build America, Black people built America. Jews ain’t build America, Black people built America. Mexicans ain’t build America, Black people built America. Anglo-Saxons ain’t built America, Black people built America. I built America, so don’t talk to me about no damn minority set-asides."
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
A Fox News spokesperson told PolitiFact the video is fake.
We found the original video of Johnson posted on his YouTube page in July 2021. He wasn’t appearing on Carlson’s show, and we found no evidence that he’s ever appeared on the show.
Searching for his name on Fox’s website, we got no results.
We rate claims that his video is authentic False.
Our Sources
Instagram post, Aug. 25, 2022
YouTube, "Dr Umar Johnson Black People Built America / We Need Access to Wealth," July 29, 2021
Instagram post, Sept. 3, 2020
Statement from Fox News, Aug. 26, 2022
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Ciara O'Rourke
No, this isn’t an authentic video of Tucker Carlson speechless before a guest
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.