Far-right Fox News host Tucker Carlson has come under fire for repeatedly promoting the talking points of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who recently invaded Ukraine, the fledgling democratic nation that broke from the U.S.S.R. in 1991.
In 2019, amid the earliest rumblings of Trump's first impeachment for withholding congressionally approved aid from Ukraine to pressure its President to open investigations into then-candidate Joe Biden's family, Carlson said he was rooting for Russia over the United States' ally.
Even as Putin was amassing troops at the Ukrainian border, Carlson downplayed the prospect of an invasion and suggested that American democrats were far greater enemies to the United States than Putin. Russian state media subsequently broadcast clips of Carlson's show as part of its propaganda.
Most recently, Carlson promoted the Russian state media's baseless claim that the United States is funding bio labs in Ukraine, and further claimed that the United States was harboring Soviet-era bioweapons found in these labs, heavily distorting the facts to make his case.
That didn't sit well with ABC News' chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl, who—in a recent interview with MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace—slammed Carlson for repeating Putin's talking points.
Watch below.
"What is sort of inexplicable here is that what is being said [by Tucker Carlson] is almost a plagiarism of Vladimir Putin. It's almost word for word what Vladimir Putin...has said in making the argument to justify what's happening in Ukraine" - @jonkarl w/ @NicolleDWallace pic.twitter.com/gzTudRA6jd
— Deadline White House (@DeadlineWH) March 11, 2022
Karl said:
“What is sort of inexplicable here is that what is being said is almost a plagiarism of Vladimir Putin, and it's almost word for word what Vladimir Putin has been saying, not just now, but again for several years, and what he has said in making the argument to justify what's happening in Ukraine. ... I can't explain it. All I can say is that these are the facts. No, there's no evidence the United States is manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine. These are not secret labs that were revealed. ... These are statements that are not only not true, but are precisely what is being said in Moscow by Vladimir Putin."
Social media users agreed.
@TuckerCarlson spreading (easily fact checked) Putins propaganda on @FoxNews. I mean, no one is surprised but if this isn't the most UN-AMERICAN trash of a "news" station & "reporter", then I don't know what is. https://t.co/y56hlxi0GG
— Sara 💉Vaccinated & Caffeinated ☕️🤩 (@saralynne65) March 11, 2022
@FoxNews You’ve become the propaganda media outlet for Putin. What the Hell is wrong with you people? https://t.co/n5ltHIiEHF
— tempest1956 (@tempest1956) March 11, 2022
Those who exclaim ‘fake news’ are the ones creating and spreading it. Time to sanction Fox News. https://t.co/Bk8z7jMRlU
— EraxmusBDragon (@eraxmusBdragon) March 11, 2022
Tucker is not just stupid, he's dangerous on a new level. 👀👇 https://t.co/EcKmIouiXk
— Rachel (@RachelBartLuv) March 11, 2022
Thank you @jonkarl https://t.co/j3pxh7Lt9G
— Nicolle Wallace (@NicolleDWallace) March 11, 2022
But Karl isn't the only one pushing back on Carlson's propaganda.
Tucker Carlson continues to act as a shill for an enemy of America, Vladimir Putin. When will Fox News stop this Putin propaganda on their airwaves. If Fox News won’t do it then all those American companies who pulled out of Russia should pull out of Fox
https://t.co/u0betvodu9
— Mike Walker (@New_Narrative) March 11, 2022
You probably think it's impossible to defend Putin's brutal, senseless war in Ukraine. And you're right. But Tucker Carlson is really trying! Let's take a look at last night's show. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/0mr4RcWq9n
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 11, 2022
Days ago, Tucker Carlson asked why he should hate Putin, and Trump called Putin a genius. Remember that. https://t.co/CV87k0q7Gq
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) March 10, 2022
Hundreds of Ukrainians outside of the White House just let out a huge cheer in favor of removing Putin’s propagandist, Tucker Carlson, from Fox News.
— Aaron Parnas (@AaronParnas) March 6, 2022
Carlson continues to broadcast lies and speculation to millions of viewers on a nightly basis.
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@sadcommunistdog; @froglok/Bluesky