Posted on 03/16/2022 8:58:56 AM PDT by MercyFlush
On March 3, as Russian military forces bombed Ukrainian cities as part of Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of his neighbor, the Kremlin sent out talking points to state-friendly media outlets with a request: Use more Tucker Carlson.
“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,” advises the 12-page document written in Russian. It sums up Carlson’s position: “Russia is only protecting its interests and security.” The memo includes a quote from Carlson: “And how would the US behave if such a situation developed in neighboring Mexico or Canada?”
The document—titled “For Media and Commentators (recommendations for coverage of events as of 03.03)”—was produced, according to its metadata, at a Russian government agency called the Department of Information and Telecommunications Support, which is part of the Russian security apparatus. It was provided to Mother Jones by a contributor to a national Russian media outlet who asked not to be identified. The source said memos like this one have been regularly sent by Putin’s administration to media organizations during the war. Independent media outlets in Russia have been forced to shut down since the start of the conflict.
The March 3 document opens with top-line themes the Kremlin wanted Russian media to spread: The Russian invasion is “preventing the possibility of nuclear strikes on its territory”; Ukraine has a history of nationalism (that presumably threatens Russia); the Russian military operation is proceeding as planned; Putin is protecting all Russians; the “losing” Ukrainian army is shelling residential areas of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia; foreign mercenaries are arriving in Ukraine; Europe “is facing more and more problems” because of its own sanctions; and there will be “danger and possible legal consequences” for those in Russia who protest the war. The document notes that it is “necessary to continue quoting” Putin. It claims that the “hysteria of the West had reached the inexplicable level” of people calling for killing dogs and cats from Russia and asks, “Today they call for the killing of animals from Russia. Tomorrow, will they call for killing people from Russia?”
A section headlined “Victory in Information War” tells Russian journalists to push these specific points: The Ukrainian military is beginning to collapse; the Kyiv government is guilty of “war crimes”; and Moscow is the target of a “massive Western anti-Russian propaganda” operation. It states that Russian media should raise questions about Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s state of mind and suggest he is not truly in charge of Ukraine. And it encourages these outlets to “broadcast messages” highlighting the law recently passed by the Russia Duma that makes it a crime to impede the war effort or disseminate what the government deems “false” information about the war, punishable for up to 15 years in prison. This portion instructs Russian journalists to emphasize that these penalties apply to anyone who promotes news about Ukrainian military victories or Russian attacks on civilian targets.
This is the section of the memo that calls on Russian media to make as much use as possible of Tucker Carlson’s broadcasts. No other Western journalist is referenced in the memo.
Mother Jones is not posting the full document to protect the source of the material. Here are photos of the memo. The first shows the opening page; the next displays the paragraph citing Carlson.
I like Tucker. There is plenty to criticize about NATO, about US corruption, and overall US policy. He is the most independent voice in US media.
It’s possible to admire him and also to admire the Ukrainian resistance to Russia’s invasion, and admire the man who is leading that fight up close and personal.
You left out Cuba in 1962. Some of us were around and we cheered on JFK as he explained the Monroe Doctrine with it's sphere of influence to America. We were a better country then, much smarter too.
mother jones is the equivalent to that DU site.
I wouldn’t believe anything they say.
Yeah. Man bites dog.
Or so they would have you believe. Never saw MJ criticising Leftist military adventures in the 70s and 80s. Those were always Noble Revolutionary movements to stop ruthless war mongering Capitalist runnig dog lackeys or whatever...
Complete BS.
Talk about projection. You really hate the truth.
This sounds like disinformation from our own intelligence agencies.
The whole Ukrainian issue is very complex. The eastern provinces are, indeed, more Russian then Ukrainian. They speak Russian and spend rubles. They have been fighting the Kyiv government for over eight years.
Carlson has taken on challenging stories fearlessly. He has clearly condemned Russian assaults. Anyone who quotes him out-of-context and misrepresents him is simply a liar.
That would include Russian journalists as well as mother jones journalists.
Plus they are all stooned.
They offer no proof, but even if true so what? Tucker Carlson is the only mainstream media figure with the courage to challenge the deep state narrative, why wouldn’t they support him? Does just speaking the truth make Tucker a traitor? Would you rather Tucker just go along with the lies and follow the deep state narrative?
“Tucker is probably saying the truth about the Labs.”
I’m not so sure.
First, the biolab narrative can be linked back to one social media account that posted a rather professional and media-ready graphic showing the locations of the alleged bio-weapons labs. That’s it. Every story since then traces back to this original social media post.
Second, there have been claims that Russia has conveniently destroyed several of these labs. If so then they also destroyed what would have been very useful evidence of their existence. Rubble can be whatever you want it to be.
Third, I have no doubt that there are bio labs in Ukraine. Any modern country will have labs for health care, plant research, pharmaceutical research, and etc. That does not mean there are bio-weapons being produced. Even the infamous Wuhan lab is not a bio-weapons facility. They did stupid stuff, sure, but there is no evidence that the place is a military weapons lab. There’s hardly any security around it.
Meaning I’m still waiting on actual evidence of bio-weapons labs in Ukraine. If they do exist and actual evidence is presented to support that claim then I’m interested in seeing it.
This is just a coordinated smear campaign against Tucker because he doesn’t have his head up Biden’s ass.
“mother jones is the equivalent to that DU site. I wouldn’t believe anything they say.”
I should hope my disclaimers were noted. I am also skeptical of this claim.
You are correct. Just Putin Puffer talking points. Zero credibilty...just witness the destruction of Ukraine.
“Tucker is an idiot.”
Is that you, Mitt?
Good point.
Tucker is amazing. Tells the truth, and that drives libs AND Neocons nutz.
You’ve done nothing but post pro-Ukraine propaganda since this whole thing started, what exactly is your agenda?
Tucker has been one of the only voices of reason.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.