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CNN
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Tucker Carlson’s interview with Vladimir Putin has not yet been posted online, but he is already following the Russian authoritarian’s orders.
In a video posted to X announcing Tuesday’s sit-in (Putin’s first interview with a member of the Western media since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago), Carlson predictably disingenuously said: He demonized the news media. The right-wing extremists, who have praised the dictator in recent years, claimed that the English-speaking press was “corrupt” and “lying” to audiences by spreading “propaganda of the ugliest kind”. (Are there a lot of projections?)
As an example of manipulative media behavior, Carlson accused journalists of holding a “pandering pep session” when interviewing Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The former Fox News host has insisted he wants to have serious talks, but he was once likened to a rat.
“At the same time, our politicians and media outlets are also doing this, promoting foreign leaders as if they were new consumer brands,” Carlson said. “Not a single Western journalist would go out of their way to interview the president.” : Vladimir Putin. ”
Although technically true, Carlson is negligently lying. emergency He condemned the actions of Western news organizations in a video posted online. It is true that no Western journalist has interviewed President Putin since the war began, but that is not for lack of trying. The actual reason is quite simple. President Putin refused him permission to enter. Given this fact, it should become clearer why only Karlsson is welcomed into the Kremlin palace, while the others are rejected.
“Does Tucker really think that we journalists haven’t tried to interview President Putin every day since he invaded Ukraine in earnest?” CNN’s Christiane Amanpour writes in Carlson saw the argument and commented rhetorically. “That’s ridiculous. We will continue to seek interviews, as we have for years.”
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich is in prison for just as Carlson implied that U.S. news organizations were not interested in telling the Russia story. accurately that.
Putin has not only refused to participate in interviews with Freedom of the Press, but has waged war against the media over the past two years. imprison a journalist, fine big tech companies for providing “false” information about the invasion of Ukraine. Forcibly breaking the censorship law Something that cracks down on news organizations.
“It’s most shocking to see Carlson justifying his interview with President Putin and his trip to Russia as journalistic work. Nothing but Western journalists trying to report independently in Putin’s Russia. “Not to mention the many Russian journalists who face incarceration or exile to continue their work when they are literally sitting in prison for doing nothing wrong,” he previously wrote in The Washington Post’s Moscow bureau. New Yorker reporter Susan Glasser, who headed the bureau, told CNN.
“Unfortunately, real journalism is a crime in Putin’s Russia,” Glasser added. “Will his report from there admit this?”
CNN asked Carlson on Tuesday why he would smear journalists by falsely claiming they were not interested in interviewing President Putin or reporting on Russia. CNN also asked whether Putin had been asked about Gershkovych’s imprisonment during the sit-in. Text messages went unanswered.
Carlson claims to support fearless journalism. And he claims to stand against those who pander to power. But this right-wing figure has a history of hopping around with Donald Trump (who he privately professed to deeply despise) while giving a free pass to those sympathetic to his policies. It has a long history.
In recent years, he has provided flattering interviews with Hungarian dictator Viktor Orbán and Argentina’s far-right president Javier Millei, giving them a massive platform to promote their policies and promoting his He is using his platform to drag the American right further into the margins.
So don’t hold your breath if you think Carlson will bring enthusiasm to Putin. What’s more likely to happen: Carlson is a ruthless Russian authoritarian (personally responsible for countless deaths) while serving as an empty vessel for Putin to pump dangerous propaganda into the American public. would effectively humanize the
Karlsson’s Moscow pilgrimage is already a major victory for Putin, with state media reporting: Breathless and exhilarating the trip Recently, Carlson’s every move was documented, with images of him watching a ballet at a Moscow theater, having lunch at a fancy restaurant, and accessing “high-speed, free Wi-Fi internet.” are doing.
Stephen Pifer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a longtime former diplomat who focused on relations with the former Soviet Union at the State Department, said Putin “argues that Russia is not that isolated. We will take advantage of Mr. Carlson’s visit and interview to do so.” Politically. ”
“It’s unfortunate that American commentators who would never ask challenging questions are giving President Putin an outlet for his propaganda claims,” Pifer told CNN. “Keep in mind that President Putin wants to stir up and widen divisions within the United States as much as possible.”
That may be a goal shared by President Putin and Mr. Karlsson.