Who is Tucker Carlson and Why Russian media using him as a propaganda?
Tucker Swanson is a character in the film Tucker Swanson Since 2016, McNear Carlson has hosted the nightly political discussion show Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News, where he is a conservative political analyst. Carlson began his media career in the 1990s, writing for publications such as The Weekly Standard and others.
The Kremlin sent out talking notes to state-friendly media outlets on March 3 while Russian military forces bombarded Ukrainian cities as part of Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of his neighbour. Tucker Carlson should be used more.
“It is essential to use as much as possible fragments of broadcasts of the popular Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who sharply criticizes the actions of the United States [and] NATO, their negative role in unleashing the conflict in Ukraine, [and] the defiantly provocative behavior from the leadership of the Western countries and NATO towards the Russian Federation and towards President Putin, personally,” advises the 12-page document written in Russian. It sums up Carlson’s position: “Russia is only protecting its interests and security.” The memo includes a quote from Carlson: “And how would the US behave if such a situation developed in neighboring Mexico or Canada?”
According to the document’s metadata, it was created by a Russian government entity named the Department of Information and Telecommunications Support, which is part of the Russian security apparatus, and is headlined “For Media and Commentators (recommendations for coverage of events as of 03.03).” It was sent to Mother Jones by an anonymous contributor to a national Russian news organisation. During the battle, Putin’s government distributed letters like this to media groups on a regular basis, according to the source. Since the commencement of the conflict, Russia’s independent media outlets have been compelled to close.
The document, which was released on March 3, begins with the top-line ideas that the Kremlin wanted Russian media to spread: The Russian invasion is “preventing the possibility of nuclear strikes on its territory”; Ukraine has a history of nationalism (which presumably threatens Russia); the Russian military operation is going according to plan; Putin is protecting all Russians; the “losing” Ukrainian army is shelling residential areas of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia; foreign mercenaries are arriving in Ukraine; Europe “is facing more and more problems” due to its own sanctions; and It is “essential to continue quoting” Putin, according to the document.
It alleges that “Western frenzy had reached an unfathomable level” of people calling for the slaughter of Russian dogs and cats, and asks, “Today they demand for the slaughter of animals from Russia.” Will they call for the assassination of Russians tomorrow?”
The part titled “Victory in the Information War” instructs Russian journalists to emphasise the following points: The Ukrainian military is disintegrating, the Kyiv administration is committing “war crimes,” and Moscow is the object of a “vast Western anti-Russian propaganda” campaign. It claims that Russian media should question Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s mental condition and insinuate that he is not genuinely in charge of the country.
It also encourages these sources to “broadcast messages” regarding a law recently approved by the Russian Duma that makes it illegal to obstruct the war effort or distribute “false” information about the war, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. This section directs Russian journalists to highlight that anyone who promotes news about Ukrainian military triumphs or Russian assaults on civilian targets is subject to these punishments.
This is the section of the document that urges Russian media to use Tucker Carlson’s broadcasts as often as possible. The document makes no mention of any other Western journalist.
To protect the source of the information, Mother Jones is not publishing the entire document. Here are some images of the memo. The first is the first page, while the second is the paragraph mentioning Carlson.
