Western media outlets have tried to interview Putin, contrary to Carlson claim | Fact check

Gabrielle Settles, USA TODAY
·3 min read
26
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and U.S. conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson.
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The claim: No Western journalists have reached out to interview Putin

Former Fox News host and conservative pundit Tucker Carlson announced Feb. 6 (direct link, archive link) that he was going to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin, claiming along the way that no one else has bothered to do so.

Carlson talked about the Russia-Ukraine war and criticized media outlets from “English-speaking countries” for interviewing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in what Carlson called “fawning pep sessions.” Then he levied a claim about Western media.

“Not a single Western journalist has bothered to interview the president of the other country involved in this conflict, Vladimir Putin,” Carlson says.

His announcement was reposted more than 165,000 times on X and shared on Facebook more than 10,000 times.

The interview is set to air on Carlson's media network on Feb. 8 at 6 p.m. Eastern.

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Our rating: False

The Kremlin and journalists from multiple outlets have refuted Carlson’s claim. Western media organizations have reached out many times for an interview with Putin, but the interviews weren't granted.

Carlson is among other Western journalists requesting an interview

CNN anchor and journalist Christiane Amanpour took to X to refute Carlson in a Feb. 6 post of her own.

“Does Tucker really think we journalists haven't been trying to interview President Putin every day since his full scale invasion of Ukraine?” she wrote on Feb. 6. “It's absurd – we'll continue to ask for an interview, just as we have for years now.”

BBC News Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg also chimed in with an X post.

“Interesting to hear Tucker Carlson claim that ‘no western journalist has bothered to interview’ Putin since the invasion of Ukraine," he wrote. "We’ve lodged several requests with the Kremlin in the last 18 months. Always a ‘no’ for us."

The Associated Press noted in a story it is also among the outlets that have sought to interview Putin.

Dmitry Peskov, Putin's press secretary, confirmed that other outlets have reached out since the start of the war, according to reports from Russian and international media groups.

“No, Mr. Carlson is wrong. In fact, he cannot know this,” Peskov told reporters on Feb. 7. “We receive many requests for interviews with the president, but mainly, when it concerns the countries of the collective West, we are talking about large online media: traditional TV channels, large newspapers, which cannot boast of attempts to at least look impartial in terms of covering what is happening.”

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Peskov said Carlson was chosen for the interview because “he has a position that differs” from other English-language media.

USA TODAY reached out to Carlson for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tucker Carlson wrong about Western media ignoring Putin | Fact check