Rumors circulating online that former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson has been placed on Ukraine’s “hit list” for his widely criticized interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin are false, according to a new report.
According to an Associated Press analysis, a photo allegedly showing Carlson among the names that Ukrainian forces wanted killed was misinterpreted by social media users. The article also stated that claims that Carlson was sanctioned by the European Union (EU) for the interview turned out to be false.
The photo circulating on social media shows a picture of Carlson and a short biography describing him as a “pro-Russian propagandist” and an “accomplice of Russian war criminals and occupiers” and accusing him of attacking “Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
The image used as proof of the alleged execution list comes from the website of the Myrotvorets Center, an NGO that studies threats to Ukrainian national security.
Carlson’s name is mentioned on the website, but he was on the list of the “Purgatory” project, which deliberately tracks people suspected of acting against Ukraine’s national security.
The former Fox News host regularly sympathized with Russia, even going so far as to say that he “hoped Russia would win” when Putin launched his first attack on Ukraine.
Moreover, Carlson’s inclusion on the list is not the result of his interview with Putin; his name has been on the list since at least June 2023.
The rumor gained momentum on X/Twitter, which hosts Carlson’s program.
A commenter on social media shared the photo with the false claim that it was a call for assassination.
The user wrote:
This worthless dictator Zelensky put Tucker Carlson on the ‘Hit List’ for interviewing Putin. Biden helped him with your tax dollars.
According to its website, Myrotvorets is “an independent non-governmental organization created by a group of scientists, journalists and experts who study the manifestations of crimes against Ukraine’s national security, peace, security of humanity and the international legal order”; it is not an arm of the Ukrainian government.
The word “Myrotvorets” means “peacemaker” in Ukrainian.
In addition to the allegations that Carlson was on an execution list, some social media users also claimed that the European Union had imposed sanctions on him.
EU spokesperson Peter Stano denied these allegations on Thursday.
When asked specifically about Carlson, Stano said, “There are currently no specific discussions in the relevant bodies of the EU about the name you mentioned, about this American person in Moscow.”
source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas
