Ukrainian media are publishing blogger Tucker Carlson's manipulations on Ukraine
Ukrainian media and Telegram channels are massively spreading posts from American blogger Tucker Carlson, who is renowned for disseminating anti-Ukrainian fakes. This time, he distorted the words of the head of the Pentagon, a misrepresentation that our journalists were happy to quote.
The Kharkiv Live channel, boasting 193,000 subscribers, cited Carlson, claiming that “Pentagon chief Austin threatened congressmen to send their relatives to Ukraine to ‘fight russia’ if they didn’t support a request for new aid to Ukraine.” This post has already reached over 60,000 people.
A similar account surfaced in Focus weekly, stating, “Austin threatened US congressmen to send their loved ones to ‘fight Russia’ - media.” The journalists then quoted Carlson extensively, with the term “media” referring to the Headline USA portal, which also cited Carlson. The circle is complete.
However, in reality, Tucker distorted the words of the Pentagon chief. According to The Messenger Politics, “...Austin warned Congress on Tuesday that if lawmakers do not provide more aid to Ukraine, it would ‘very likely’ result in American troops on the ground in Europe defending NATO allies in other countries, with russia as the next target.”
Clearly, there was no direct threat made by Austin; rather, he was explaining the cause-and-effect relationships, illustrating the potential consequences of inaction.
The real issue at hand goes beyond the surface problem; it revolves around the notable fact that Ukrainian journalists are citing Tucker Carlson without mentioning his background.
Let’s reiterate: Tucker Carlson has a history of spreading false information about Ukraine, closely aligning - almost word for word - with the Kremlin’s playbook.
It all began during the Covid-19 pandemic when he consistently opposed necessary quarantine measures and later asserted that vaccinations undermine immunity.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, in his programs, Carlson has repeatedly echoed russian narratives, promoting claims of alleged biolabs in Ukraine and falsely stating that russia was at war with the United States, not Ukraine. He even went as far as justifying russian aggression and opposing sanctions.
Commenting on the russian terrorist attack on the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, Carlson remarked, “Blowing up the dam may be disadvantageous for Ukraine, but it’s more damaging to russia. It’s for this reason that the Ukrainian government previously considered the possibility of destroying it.”
Fox News reportedly terminated its association with Carlson due to his penchant for spreading fake news. However, he has now found a new platform on YouTube, with his videos being distributed by Elon Musk, the owner of the social network X.
Recently, Carlson invited Canadian international lawyer Bob Amsterdam to his show to discuss the alleged “criminal” activities of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. These statements echo russian propaganda narratives aimed at discrediting and demonizing the local autocephalous church of Ukraine.
russian media actively quotes Carlson’s statements, which are based on fake news.
Given Tucker Carlson’s compromised reputation, every statement should be treated with a presumption of falsity. Not a single word from him should be accepted at face value. In fact, if journalists insist on quoting him, they must first seek solid evidence to validate his claims. Even then, such a quote remains dubious