During his recent trip to Moscow to interview Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin last week, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson praised the Russian capital city’s subway system, noted the seemingly low-cost of groceries and basically took aim at the problems in the United States via a series of videos he shared on social media.
In one video, Carlson explains, “We’re standing in front of the Kievskaya Metro station, in this train station next to it. Now, the metro station was built by Joseph Stalin 70 years ago. And the question is, how is it doing now after 70 years? So we went into it to take a look, and what we found shocked us. Now, that’s not an endorsement of Stalin, who was bad, obviously, nor is it an endorsement of the current president, Vladimir Putin. You may not like him either, but it doesn’t change the reality of what we saw or precisely didn’t see. There’s no graffiti, there’s no filth, no foul smells. There are no bums or drug addicts or rapists or people waiting to push you onto the train tracks and kill you. No, it’s perfectly clean and orderly.”
In the other videos, Carlson also seemed to suggest that Russia—despite the sanctions imposed on it following its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago—was doing better than the United States. He went on say, “What was very shocking, very disturbing was the city of Moscow, where I’d never been … it was so much nicer than any city in my country.”
It is not clear from the interviews if Russian officials actually gave Carlson the option to travel freely around Moscow. While the Russian city officially doesn’t have “slums,” tourist guide books will warn of areas that shouldn’t be visited. Such neighborhoods were not seen in any of Carlson’s videos.
Nor did Carlson acknowledge that currently 1.6 million Russians live in 112,353 buildings that have been officially deemed uninhabitable slums, while it is further unknown how many more Russians reside in buildings that residents say clearly should be condemned, a fact reported by Radio Free Europe in late 2022.
“I would say this is an exercise in framing. My sense is that Carlson is interested in shaping a narrative about Russia with his observation—whether it’s true or not. Focusing on the positives, or overstating them, is meant to align the idea of Russia with a sense of positivity and comfort—i.e. to frame them in a good light,” suggested Dr. Cliff Lampe, professor of information and associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Information at the University of Michigan.
Of course, the framing does work better if people don’t have direct experience to counter it.
“So if they haven’t traveled broadly, and trust Carlson, they might be more likely to accept that positive framing,” explained Lampe. “It’s not really misinformation, and people who accept the frame aren’t being stupid—it’s a common cognitive shortcut that everyone uses when forming impressions about things, especially those they don’t have direct experience with.”
Travelogue Not Journalism
It could be argued that positive spin on Moscow was no different from that of Rick Steves, Samantha Brown or the late Anthony Bourdain. None of them would have offered a ride on the wild side of town, and those shows rarely even acknowledged the potential dangers in some exotic locations.
What could be different here is that Carlson has continued to be seen by many as an impartial journalist. These videos would serve to counter that fact.
“Tucker Carlson’s praise of Russia was propaganda, plain and simple. In one video, he stated a feeling of being ‘radicalized,'” said Jason Mollica, professorial lecturer in the School of Communication at American University.
“Walking through the grocery store in Moscow, Carlson said, ‘seeing what things cost and how they live, it will radicalize you against our leaders.’ In Russia, any protest against the government will find a citizen jailed; free speech is punished. The subway system, another point of Carlson’s affection was built during Stalin’s rule—at the public’s expense—to highlight Russian superiority,” Mollica added. “Much of what Carlson praised is built on oppressive rule.”
Carlson may also have been speaking to those who may never travel to Russia, or ever leave the United States for that matter.
“He understands his audience will take what he shares as fact,” Mollica explained. “While Carlson has been mocked by many this week, there are individuals who will repost the videos and add to the continued misinformation stream on social and digital media.”
The videos could be dismissed as just another instance of misinformation, but Susan Campbell, distinguished lecturer in the Communication, Film, and Media Studies Department at the University of New Haven, said these should be seen as far more nefarious.
“Everyone needs to remind themselves that the president of Russia—who jails actual journalists, who then, as just happened with Alexi Navalny, die in prison—would only grant an interview to a sycophant who would then turn around and serve as Putin’s propagandist,” said warned.
“Carlson is a self-inflated distraction who is dangerously devoted to his own attention-seeking at the risk of the democracy,” added Campbell, who found it both sad and enraging. “I hope the money Carlson is making off this is worth it. This is a sad day for journalism.”
