Pristine subways and cheap produce… Could this be a symptom of a perfect civilization? Tucker Carlson surely seems to believe so. For a week in February, Carlson traveled to Moscow and posted vlogs on the Tucker Carlson Network, his project since being dismissed from FOX News. Claiming objectivity and promising truth to his fans, Carlson posts videos of his trip to Russian supermarkets and the Kievskaya metro station. Interestingly enough, he dances around giving his viewers an explanation to his question — why are the subway stations so much cleaner — and instead implores “someone in charge to give us an answer.” He then pans to the subway station, showcasing beautiful murals, hanging chandeliers, and no homeless people. One is left to wonder why he did not interview a citizen, but even Carlson must know the dangers of voicing opinions in Russia. He also vlogs a visit to a supermarket, where he was in shock at the cheap prices of produce. All of this leads to a conclusive inquiry: is America the real dystopia compared to Russia?
There are a few caveats in Carlson’s idealization of Moscow’s metros and supermarkets. Due to the gradual devaluation of the ruble, massive increases in military spending, and Western sanctions, every Russian is becoming poorer (except, of course, the Russian oligarchs, who become richer despite the sanctions placed on them). What seems cheap to Carlson, is very expensive to the average Russian — not to mention that wealth inequalities that have been plaguing Russian society for centuries.
Through Tucker Carlson’s trip to Moscow, the patrons of his website now have a first-person perspective into Putin’s opinions and daily life in Russia. In an interview at the World Government Summit, Carlson equated a “higher” standard of living with better leadership, stating that Biden is senile and that Putin runs a country better than the former, “no matter what your political views are.” The problem with his vlog, however, is not just that he is presenting incorrect information, it is that he is using his medium to present a positively distorted portrayal of a country that has been the world’s supervillain for years. If Russia is depicted as a clean, upstanding and exemplary country, people who already created a narrative that Carlson is a voice of reason in a society of left-wing propaganda are going to be validated in their justification of pulling support from Ukraine. More than this though, the avenue of social media and self-funded audiovisual endeavors like Carlson’s shows how figureheads with loud voices and large followings can blur the line between caricature entertainment and genuine news. Because Carlson has full jurisdiction over what he publishes, unlike during his time at FOX News, he can steer his stories how he likes.
The danger of Tucker Carlson’s vlogs and narratives stems from his biased narrative, where he chooses to exclude facts depicting how poor the average Russian citizen is, and instead focuses on relatively cheap prices. He does not acknowledge the fact that the citizens cannot advocate for themselves or have the freedom to express their opinions, because they fear arrest and detainment. It seems as though his channel is an echo chamber and revibrates what his subscribers already believe, reinforcing their perspectives and contributing to a conservative account that paints Russia in an idealist way.
Since Navalny’s reported death on Feb. 16, over 400 people who mourned at his grave have been detained, and his family and world seeks retribution. Russian President Vladimir Putin represses his main opposition and quells all dissent through threat of violence. While journalists such as Evan Gershkovich remain imprisoned for their investigative work in Russia, we are left to wonder why men such as Carlson hold power and remain extremely influential over those who share similar views to him, and the impact that that may have on the upcoming election cycle and the future of America.
