A spokesperson for the Russian government clarified that it has rejected requests to interview Vladimir Putin from reputable media outlets

The Kremlinā€™s first public response to Tucker Carlsonā€™s announcement that heā€™s 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 Carlsonā€™s claim that ā€œnot a single Western journalist has botheredā€ to interview Russiaā€™s president throughout the nationā€™s war with Ukraine, which has raged for more than two years.

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Putinā€™s 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. Putinā€™s 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 hostā€™s history of granting softball interviews to controversial influencers, political figures, and authoritarian leaders, indicates this is unlikely. Given everything we know about Putinā€™s propaganda machine, itā€™s clear that in Carlson, the Russian government sees a safe opportunity to broadcast its carefully crafted messaging to American viewers.

  • BossDj@lemm.ee
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    10 months ago

    Totally agree! Well said.

    Iā€™m just scared that the message ā€œthey donā€™t want it. Stop tryingā€ empowers especially white racist people and disenfranchises the youth who are fighting for the change over time (I donā€™t actually know our research how large this movement is. Obviously I still used Latino in my own post). Big right wing media gets their message out that progressives are reverse racist, but the more accurate message you said I think isnā€™t as pervasive, and both sides need to hear it. Especially among minorities who arenā€™t getting representation or getting their voices heard.

    • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Other thing is, I canā€™t pretend like Iā€™m a cultural expert. When they say itā€™s patriarchal, they might be thinking of completely different examples than me. And the ones Iā€™m thinking of might be benign or have a cultural significance that outweighs anything else. Itā€™s better for me to keep my mouth shut on specifics, and let them know I support them and Iā€™ll respect whatever terminology they prefer.