A senior writer on Fox News' most popular TV show has resigned after it was revealed he had posted a series of "deeply offensive" comments using a pseudonym reportedly associated with the far-Right.
Blake Neff, who wrote for Tucker Carlson Tonight, stepped down on Friday after a CNN investigation found that he had posted on an online forum called AutoAdmit under the username CharlesXII.
Fox called Mr Neff's actions "horrendous and deeply offensive".
Examples of Mr Neff's many comments include: "Black doods staying inside playing Call of Duty is probably one of the biggest factors keeping crime down" and "honestly given how tired black people always claim to be, maybe the real crisis is their lack of sleep."
He also kept an ongoing thread harassing a woman, and posted her personal information online, the investigation found.
Charles XII was a Swedish king in the late 17th and early 18th centuries who has long been treated as a "symbol for far-right groups" according to local media. His death has sometimes been commemorated by Swedish nationalists.
CNN received a tip-off that CharlesXII was Mr Neff and matched publicly available information about the writer with content in some of his messages.
In an internal memo, Fox said: "Neff's abhorrent conduct on this forum was never divulged to the show or the network until Friday, at which point we swiftly accepted his resignation.
"Make no mistake, actions such as his cannot and will not be tolerated at any time in any part of our work force."
Mr Carlson has not commented on the revelation but Fox said he would address it in his show on Monday. The host has reportedly described Mr Neff as a "wonderful writer" in the past.
Tucker Carlson Tonight recently broke the record for the highest-rated US cable news show in history, with an average of 4.33 million viewers.
The show has been criticised as offensive for the many comments Mr Carlson has made about immigrants, among other issues. In 2019 he said that illegal immigrants had "plundered" American taxpayers.
