Tucker Carlson's return: Hosting 'Tucker' on Russian state TV
Tucker Carlson lost his job at the American station Fox News over a year ago. Known for his pro-Russian and pro-Putin remarks, he soon conducted a one-on-one interview with Vladimir Putin. Today, Carlson has a job in television again, with his own show on the state-run Russian TV channel Russia 24.
Russia 24, a government propaganda channel, is under sanctions, which means it is banned from broadcasting in the UK.
The former Fox News journalist has his show titled "Tucker" on the channel. Its first episode was broadcast on Monday evening.
It was simply a repeat of the material that Carlson had previously shared on his social media.
The episode's topic was ticks and Lyme disease. Carlson linked this illness to research conducted by the US government on biological weapons.
Fox News lost millions because of Tucker Carlson's theories
While working for Fox News, Carlson was a staunch critic of American aid to Ukraine. Even before the invasion, he suggested that America should side with Russia.
At Fox News, Carlson hosted a popular talk show. On his program, he suggested election fraud in the US. For spreading false theories, Fox News had to pay nearly £650 million to a voting machine manufacturer.
After parting ways with Fox News, Carlson started his own show on social media.
This one interview
In February 2024, Carlson conducted a one-on-one interview with Vladimir Putin. He thus became the first Western commentator to speak with the Russian dictator since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Others had not been accepted by the Kremlin.
Russian state media extensively covered this interview, while Western media criticized it for lies and manipulations. Vladimir Putin claimed in the interview that the invasion of Ukraine was caused by NATO's expansion. He also accused Poland of collaborating with Hitler and being responsible for the outbreak of World War II. These accusations prompted reactions from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Minister Radosław Sikorski.
Russia 24 was placed on the UK's list of channels banned from broadcasting by the Council of the European Union in June 2022.
