Earlier this week, Newsweek claimed Tucker Carlson had struck a deal to air his digital video series on Russia 24, a Russian state TV channel. His company denied the reports, but Keith Olbermann isn’t buying it.
Newsweek cited reports from Russia that claimed Carlson’s show would be airing on the news channel in the country as part of a new business agreement between the two parties. Tucker Carlson Network CEO Neil Patel, however, denied that report.
“The Tucker Carlson Network has not done any deals with state media in any country,” Patel wrote. “Whoever is currently pretending to be the old Newsweek brand would know that if they had checked with us before printing like news companies are supposed to do.”
During his Countdown with Keith Olbermann podcast, the former cable news host suggested that the claim by Newsweek that Tucker Carlson is creating a new program is incorrect. He argued that the digital media start-up wasn’t exactly telling the truth, either.
“(A Russian state newspaper) said that the show is part of a joint project with Carlson TV, in which he will ‘interview figures and politicians who have alternative views to the mainstream.’ In other words, liars. Well, turns out Newsweek is partially incorrect here,” said Olbermann.
“This is not going to be some new series, at least not yet. It’s just going to be the videos that he’s already posted to Twitter X only with subtitles. Which raises this question: why would they need subtitles? I mean, everything Tucker Carlson says was written originally in Russia, wasn’t it?”
Patel wasn’t the only person involved in the digital network to deny the Newsweek report, however. Tucker Carlson Network Head of Programming and Production Operations Dean Thompson also denied the story.
“The story of a Russian show is totally false,” he said. “Any use of our content by that channel is without legal permission.”
