The CEO of the Tucker Carlson Network has rejected claims in Russian state media that the former Fox News anchor had made a deal for his shows to appear on Russian television.
The claims appear to have originated with the program Tucker, which is broadcast on Russia 24 but comprises old episodes of Carlson's shows taken from X, formerly Twitter, and YouTube, complete with a Russian voiceover. The first episode and other clips from previous months are now available online, Russian state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported.
On the website Smotrim.ru, where programs shown on Russian state channels can be viewed, is an episode introduced by Carlson dated May 18 and dubbed into Russian. The website also hosts other clips from previous months of interviews that Carlson had conducted.
Independent news outlet Astra confirmed that the program features Russian-language dubbing of Carlson's American shows and is not original content for Russian viewers. In September 2023, Russia 24 aired a trailer for a show featuring Carlson without clarifying when it would be broadcast, the BBC reported. Carlson told The Financial Times that he knew nothing about it.
Neil Patel, CEO of the Tucker Carlson Network, denied claims in Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Astra that the airing of the episodes was part of a "joint project." "The Tucker Carlson Network has not done any deals with state media in any country. Whoever is currently pretending to be the old Newsweek brand would know that if they had checked with us before printing like news companies are supposed to do," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Dean Thompson, head of programming and production operations at the Tucker Carlson Network, later told Newsweek in a statement: "The story of a Russian show is totally false. Any use of our content by that channel is without legal permission."
Newsweek has also contacted VGTRK and Smotrim.ru for comment and will update this article if a response is received.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Carlson used a March 2022 episode of his prime-time show on Fox News to fuel a conspiracy theory pushed by Russia about the supposed development of U.S. bioweapons in Ukraine.
When at Fox News, Carlson was praised on Russian state television for his positions on the war in Ukraine which were interpreted as sympathetic to Russian President Vladimir Putin. After he was fired by Fox News, one Kremlin mouthpiece described Carlson as a "voice of reason" who was "welcome in Russia."
Carlson was the highest-rated cable TV host before he left Fox News in April 2023. He launched a new show on Twitter called Tucker on Twitter, which later changed to Tucker on X with the social media network's rebranding.
In February this year, Carlson made a high-profile visit to Russia, where his interview with Putin at the Kremlin was criticized by many observers for allowing the Russian president to push his narrative on the war he started in Ukraine.
During the two-hour interview, Putin spoke extensively about Russian history and Kremlin talking points and was rarely challenged. Putin later appeared to criticize Carlson's interview approach, telling state television channel Russia-1 that he thought he would "behave aggressively and ask so-called sharp questions."
Correction 05/21/24, 1:10 p.m. ET: This article and its headline were updated to make clear there is no evidence the Tucker Carlson Network has done a deal with Russian state TV.
Update 5/21/24, 1:45 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with a statement to Newsweek from Dean Thompson.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more
