On April 4, Joe Walsh, a former Republican congressman from Illinois, tweeted what some people interpreted as a direct quote from Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
".@TuckerCarlson tonight: ‘What if these bodies of tortured, dead civilians were staged? What if they’re fake? What if the Ukrainian military killed them & then blamed Russia? I’m not saying any of this is true, I’m just asking the questions. Why can’t we ask these questions?’" the tweet said.
That evening, Walsh tweeted a clarification: "I tweeted this out this morning. I was predicting what @TuckerCarlson would say ‘tonight.’ Here’s what’s funny: So many people read this tweet & believed Tucker had already said it. Which is understandable becuz it’s EXACTLY the kind of thing Putin-lover Tucker would & has said."
Carlson addressed the original tweet on his show the following night.
"He claimed that this was a verbatim quote from our show," Carlson said. "Quote: ‘What if the bodies of tortured dead civilians are staged? What if they're fake? What if Ukrainian military killed them and blamed Russia? Not saying any of this is true, just asking questions. Why can't we ask questions?’ End quote."
Carlson went on to say that the quote "isn’t real."
"It’s completely made up," he said. "We didn’t say that, we didn’t say anything like that, we didn’t even address the topic on the air in any way."
Russia has said without evidence that "fake dead bodies" were "staged" in Bucha after its troops left the town. Carlson, meanwhile, has been criticized for echoing Russian talking points. On March 9, for example, Carlson said a Russian claim that Ukraine has bioweapon labs was "totally and completely true," but there’s no evidence that’s the case, PolitiFact reported.
But this talking point, about staged bodies, wasn’t one Carlson made.
We rate claims that he said the words that appeared in Wash’s tweet False.
Joe Walsh tweet, April 4, 2022
Joe Walsh tweet, April 4, 2022
Tucker Carlson tonight clip, April 5, 2022
BBC, Bucha killings: Satellite image of bodies site contradicts Russian claims, April 5, 2022
The Washington Post, Tucker Carlson goes full blame-America on Russia’s Ukraine invasion, March 8, 2022
The New York Times, How Russia and Right-Wing Americans Converged on War in Ukraine, March 23, 2022
Politico, GOP to Tucker Carlson: We’re the decision-makers on Ukraine, not you, Feb. 1, 2022
NPR, Why Did Tucker Carlson Echo Russian Bioweapons Propaganda On His Top-Rated Show?, March 29, 2022
PolitiFact, Russia, China and Tucker Carlson lack evidence on Ukraine bioweapons labs, March 11, 2022
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.
