Fox host Tucker Carlson, the white supremacist talking head beloved by the far-right network, has become a willing tool for communists and dictators.
Russia and China are both broadcasting his show as anti-American propaganda, according to a leaked Kremlin memo.
Related: Daddy issues: Why Putin is being worshipped by the American right
The internal memo leaked to Mother Jones instructs: “It is essential to use as much as possible fragments of broadcasts of the popular Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who sharply criticizes the actions of the United States [and] NATO, their negative role in unleashing the conflict in Ukraine, [and] the defiantly provocative behavior from the leadership of the Western countries and NATO towards the Russian Federation and towards President Putin, personally.”
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Carlson has taken his show on the road to Hungary where he praised the authoritarian dictator who invited him. He has also said that he considers Putin a member of his team, saying “Why shouldn’t I root for Russia? Because I am!”
And he dismissed what he considered the hyperbole over Putin’s intention to gobble up more territory stating, “Whatever [Putin’s] many faults, [he] has no intention of invading Western Europe.”
The hashtag #TuckyoRose quickly took over Twitter yesterday as the news broke. The tag is a portmanteau of Tucker and Tokyo Rose, the Japanese women who spread misinformation to American soldiers during World War II.
Carlson has promoted the conspiracy theory that Russia’s invasion is based off non-existent American bio labs inside Ukraine and NATO aggression. Neither are true and both have been specifically cited as Russian propaganda. Chinese media has also been talking up the baseless accusation.
And now both countries are using Carlson’s own authoritarian bent for their own purposes. They’ve deemed him a “useful idiot.” The Russian phrase refers to a person perceived as a beneficial mouthpiece for policies they do not fully understand, and who are contemptuously exploited by leaders for a goal or cause.
Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman summed up the general feelings with his tweet, “Live your life in such a way that the Russian government and state tv apparatus doesn’t think you’re an ally.”
But with the hashtag trending, others quickly joined in the castigation of the host Fox can’t quit – despite his odiousness. And the network also came under fire by Americans tired of hearing the network repeatedly broadcasting communist propaganda.
Live your life in such a way that the Russian government and state tv apparatus doesn’t think you’re an ally @TuckerCarlson #TuckyoRose https://t.co/g8hgBJyLM8
— Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) March 13, 2022
China’s state controlled media quoting Tucker Carlson quoting Russian propaganda. The Ukraine War is an vivid example of @FoxNews being on the side of America’s enemy. https://t.co/xhslwCEFTJ
— 杨涵 Han Yang (@polijunkie_aus) March 13, 2022
Tucker Carlson is used on China‘s national news CCTV for amplifying Russia’s “bio lab” conspiracy for justifying Ukraine invasion.
What a idiot pic.twitter.com/1TaSLjncf6
— 巴丢草 Badiucao💉💉 (@badiucao) March 13, 2022
This comes after an episode of Tucker where he played statements from Russia and China and claimed he had to because the US government was lying pic.twitter.com/FIsLUPprmV
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 10, 2022
#Russians love #TukyoRose Maybe he should set up shop in #Moscow. https://t.co/LcxxHYVvRN
— Deborah Ziska (@ZiskaMuse) March 13, 2022
Why are corporation executives risking their companies' reputations by buying ads on FOX News TV's, "Tucker Carlson's" Show, who's the #TukyoRose of US/ Ukraine as his pro-Russian stances are repeatedly used by RT in Russia to reflect US thinking. This funding has to stop… pic.twitter.com/8FdezMBSM2
— Gronda Morin (@GrondaMorin) March 10, 2022
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