Carlson said journalists “didn’t go out of their way” to interview Putin.

Former Fox News anchor and current web host Tucker Carlson accused journalists of being careless when he announced he would interview Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Since the day the war began in Ukraine, American media have spoken to numerous Ukrainian citizens and conducted dozens of interviews with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy,” Carlson said. SaidHe added that he had also requested a meeting with Zelensky. “At the same time, our politicians and media outlets are also doing this, promoting foreign leaders as if they were new consumer brands, and promoting Vladimir, the president of the other country involved in this conflict. -Not a single Western journalist has bothered to interview Putin.

Carlson’s assertion that journalists have not made an effort to interview Putin paints a very different picture for some journalists who have been covering the war since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. I asked him to explain.

“Interesting @TuckerCarlson’s claim that ‘not a single Western journalist has gone out of his way to interview’ Putin since the invasion of Ukraine,” said Steve Rosenberg, Russia editor at BBC News. I have written February 6th of X. “We have submitted several requests to the Kremlin over the past 18 months. For us it is always a no. ”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also disputed Karlsson’s claims. “Mr. Karlsson is wrong,” Peskov said at a press conference on February 7. “We have received many requests for interviews with the president.”

Peskov said the Kremlin, which regularly declines interview requests from major Western media outlets, granted Carlson’s request because his position was “different” from that of the mainstream “Anglo-Saxon media.” The Washington Post reported.

This is not the first time Peskov has described the many requests the Kremlin receives from journalists seeking talks with Putin. In September 2023, he said during a daily call with journalists that he “receives dozens of requests every day from international media, including U.S. media, to interview President Putin.” According to the Washington Post, Peskov said the request was turned down because “few people can calmly appreciate President Putin’s analysis” of the war due to widespread anti-Russian sentiment.

Journalists have repeatedly contacted Putin for interviews.

Journalists who had repeatedly tried unsuccessfully to interview Putin took issue with Karlsson’s statements.

“Does Tucker really think that we journalists haven’t tried to interview President Putin every day since he invaded Ukraine in earnest?” CNN Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour I have written February 6th of X. “That’s ridiculous. We will continue to seek interviews as we have for years.”

PolitiFact has also attempted to get comments from President Putin and the Kremlin, most notably naming “Putin’s lie to start war in Ukraine and cover up terror” as the lie of the year in 2022. That’s true. There was no reply.

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Journalists from The Atlantic, the Financial Times, and some Russian journalists also pushed back against Carlson’s claims.

said Anne Applebaum, a staff writer at The Atlantic who studies disinformation and propaganda. ×post “Many journalists have interviewed President Putin, and he frequently gives widely publicized speeches,” American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich said during a reporting trip. He has been detained in Russia for nearly a year after being arrested on suspicion of espionage – a charge the Wall Street Journal said was “categorically denied” and the Committee to Protect Journalists said was “completely denied.” he accused. Gershkovitch is not the only journalist detained in Russia.

Jane Kirtley, a professor of media ethics and law at the University of Minnesota’s Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, says politicians refusing interviews or refusing to make statements is especially a sign of “authoritarianism steeped in notions of freedom.” “This is very common in countries that are private or authoritarian.” Opinions in the press are completely different or non-existent. ”

John Watson, a journalism professor at American University who studies journalism ethics, said that in many cases, “it is unethical to allow news sources to kill or unduly delay reporting by refusing to comment.” ”.

Kirtley also said Western journalists attempted to interview Putin both before and after the 2022 invasion.

“Very few people were successful, and I think when they were successful it was usually when Putin thought it was in his interest,” Kirtley said.

our verdict

Carlson claimed that since Russia invaded Ukraine, “not a single Western journalist has bothered to interview President Putin.”

This was disputed by Kremlin spokesmen and many Western journalists. Journalists around the world are “going out of their way” to request interviews with President Putin. The Kremlin is in decline.

We appreciate Carlson’s claim that no one made the effort to interview Putin Pants on Fire.