The verified Twitter account for Fox News sent its first tweet in 16 months to provide an update about the network’s coverage of the coronavirus outbreak.
The tweet came Wednesday afternoon, sharing a link to an announcement about how Fox News, which is normally a paid-for cable channel, is free to watch on TV or the internet in order to provide people with “all the latest COVID-19 news, including tips on keeping safe and stories of survival, struggle and inspiration.”
The account has about 18.5 million followers.
[Click here for complete coronavirus coverage]
Keep up with all the latest COVID-19 news, including tips on keeping safe and stories of survival, struggle and inspiration, at https://t.co/m6O9czFdVU and watch Fox News Channel on television or online – no authentication required.
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 18, 2020
Fox News stopped tweeting on Nov. 8, 2018, after one of its hosts, Tucker Carlson, had his personal details “doxxed” on the platform. Protesters came to Carlson’s home, and they pounded his front door while shouting threats. Carlson’s wife, who was home alone, thought it was a home invasion and hid in the pantry closet in fear of her safety.
Reports at the time said Fox News stopped tweeting in protest of Twitter’s slow response to requests about deleting tweets that contained Carlson’s home address.
There have been about 212,600 confirmed coronavirus cases around the world, 83,000 recoveries, and 8,700 deaths, according to the latest reading by the Johns Hopkins University tracker. In the United States, there have been 7,324 cases and at least 115 deaths.
Some Fox opinion hosts and guests have come under fire, including by MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, in recent weeks as their rhetoric shifted from downplaying the coronavirus to striking a more serious tone.
