Tucker Carlson’s interviews are now broadcast on the state-owned Kremlin propaganda channel Russia 24.
The show, titled “TUCKER,” is now displayed on the website of the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, or VGTRK, where its title tag reads: “Russia 24 and CarlsonTV present.” Multiple pro-Kremlin Russian media outlets, such as Moscow 24, Life, and URA.RU, have reported Carlson as having his “own signature show” on Russia 24.
'Russia 24 and CarlsonTV present'
CarlsonTV appears to be a YouTube channel that translates Tucker Carlson’s interviews into Russian, though it remains unclear whether the former Fox News anchor has any direct involvement in the project. Neither Russia 24 nor Carlson himself have confirmed their cooperation so far.
Multiple clips from Tucker Carlson's blog, where he interviews various guests, can be found under the “Russia 24 and CarlsonTV present” caption. Only videos describing how bad things are in the U.S. and Ukraine appear to have been selected.
The latest video concerns Lyme disease, sourced from an interview with the journalist Kris Newby that has already been on Tucker's website for over a week.
More specifically, the interview isn’t dedicated to the disease itself, but a conspiracy theory according to which “Lyme disease and a host of other deadly diseases began actively spreading as the U.S. biological weapons program reached its peak.” The Russian-language title of the video is “Ticks are Nuclear Weapons for the Poor.”
Carlson’s website has a more subdued heading (“Uncensored: Was Lyme Disease Created as a Bioweapon?”) while the description reads: “In the late 1960’s, government bioweapons labs started injecting ticks with exotic diseases. Soon, people nearby began to get those diseases. Now, tick-borne Lyme is endemic. Naturally the government has admitted nothing.”
Here are some other headlines of Tucker Carlson interviews published on the VGTRK website:
- “Bob Amsterdam: There Isn't Even a Hint of Democracy in Ukraine”
- “Ron Paul Talks About U.S. Foreign Policy and Financial Problems”
- “Marjorie Taylor Green: US Debt Grows Every Night”
- “Tulsi Gabbard: U.S. is Not Run by Biden”
Clips of Tucker Carlson's interviews with far-right political philosopher Alexander Dugin, Tulsi Gabbard, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ron Paul, and others
Screenshot of 'TUCKER' on Smotrim.ru, Russia 24's video streaming platform
At the time of publication, it was not possible to confirm under what conditions Carlson cooperates with Rossiya 24 (lit. “Russia 24”), whether the rights to rebroadcast his interviews and mention his name in the title of the project have been sold, or whether he has become a full-time VGTRK employee.
Russian propaganda outlets began actively cooperating with Carlson in February 2024, when his two-hour interview with Vladimir Putin was published. The interview was actively circulated by pro-government media and propagandists, who presented it as material that would “open the eyes” of the West to both Russia and Putin's policies.
The Insider counted at least 20 falsehoods in the two-hour interview.
In September 2023, Rossiya 24 had already announced a program with Tucker Carlson. At the time, the BBC Russian Service reported that the commercial for the show featured old TV sets with Carlson repeatedly saying the word “Russia.” The trailer ended with the Russia 24 logo combined with the logo of Carlson's show. According to the publication, the clip was shown on Russian television at least twice.
Later, in a comment to the Financial Times, Carlson said he knew nothing about the show:
“I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never heard of this, or the channel. Of course I'm not hosting a show on Russian television. That's absurd. Please,” Carlson said in a text message cited by the FT.