UPDATE, May 21, 2024 (2:51 p.m. EST):
Despite initial reports that Russian state media outlet Rossiya 24 had just started broadcasting episodes of “Tucker,” and some publications insinuating that Carlson was a willing star in Putin's propaganda machine, Rossiya 24 has been rerunning his content without his permission for some time.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
Vladimir Putin's media-industrial complex has turned former Fox News host Tucker Carlson into its latest sensation.
Whether he likes it or not.
Rossiya 24 is broadcasting episodes of “Tucker,” his long-form interview show, with a Russian voiceover, days after they are posted on X and YouTube.
As The Daily Beast reports:
An episode was aired Monday night, for example, featuring Carlson discussing conspiracy theories about Lyme disease being used as a bioweapon under the title “ticks–nuclear weapons for the poor.” The same episode, minus the Russian voiceover, was available to American social media users on May 10.
The website of the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company features several other episodes of the supposedly new show, all of them featuring praise for Moscow, criticism of Ukraine, or grim predictions concerning the fate of the U.S.
In a description of the program, the site notes that Carlson “has actively criticized U.S. authorities for helping Ukraine since the start of the [war],” and that he was added to a well-known database of “enemies of Ukraine” last summer.
Carlson did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast on whether he was aware of his show being repurposed. But he told the Financial Times last fall, when Rossiya 24 first began promoting a show hosted by Carlson, that he knew nothing about it.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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