A spokesperson for the Russian government clarified that it has rejected requests to interview Vladimir Putin from reputable media outlets
The Kremlinās first public response to Tucker Carlsonās announcement that heās landed an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin was to fact-check the former Fox News host.
On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Carlson had indeed interviewed Putin, but took issue with Carlsonās claim that ānot a single Western journalist has botheredā to interview Russiaās president throughout the nationās war with Ukraine, which has raged for more than two years.
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Putinās refusal to sit down with most Western media outlets likely has less to do with accusations of bias so much as an unwillingness to be subjected to legitimate scrutiny of his government. Russia has been accused of committing atrocities and war crimes in its offensive against Ukraine, including the unlawful executions of civilians. Putinās government is also infamous for its frequent detainment of political rivals and critics, as well as the cloud of mysterious deaths and poisonings of those in his orbit.
Whether Carlson will question Putin on any of these matters remains to be seen. The former Fox News hostās history of granting softball interviews to controversial influencers, political figures, and authoritarian leaders, indicates this is unlikely. Given everything we know about Putinās propaganda machine, itās clear that in Carlson, the Russian government sees a safe opportunity to broadcast its carefully crafted messaging to American viewers.
Except that everybody is talking about it, which is a success for both Putin and Carlson already.
I donāt know how it helps Putin for people to simply know he was interviewed. He canāt get his propaganda out unless they watch the interview.
I think itās very likely all the media attention will translate to a whole lot of views. People will think itās a rare chance to āhear what Putin has to say about the situationā, as if his propaganda hasnāt been on Russian television 24/7 for years now.
Yeah, but in order to do that, they have to pay to join Tuckerās streaming platform. And that is the thing which makes me think not too many people will watch it.
Not many, but way more than otherwise would have. And the rest will read about it somewhere else, spreading Putinās propaganda independently of the stupidity of the platform.
Or maybe itāll just expose Tucker as the complete hack that he is once and for all. But I kind of doubt those who havenāt seen it already can ever be convinced.