How Russia Media Uses Fox News to Make Its Case

3 yıl önce

As Western leaders introduced sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, Tucker Carlson, the Fox News host, said seizing personal property from Russian oligarchs went too far.

“No American government had ever done anything like that before,” he said.

While the segment was aimed at Fox News’s conservative audience, it found another audience in Russia. The argument was parroted beat by beat by RIA Novosti, a Russian state news agency, which wrote that “the average U.S. citizen is simply horrified by what is happening.”

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March 14, 2022

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In the U.S., Biden has been accused of destroying the country with anti-Russian sanctions В США обвинили Байдена в уничтожении страны антироссийскими санкциями

Репортер назвал антироссийские санкции, введенные на фоне украинского кризиса, полномасштабной экономической войной против россиян. Также Карлсон указал на незаконность изъятия собственности попавших под санкции людей.

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“No American government had ever done anything like that before. If there was one thing the U.S. government long stood for, it was the rule of law.”

“Ни одно американское правительство никогда не делало ничего подобного. Если и было что-то, что правительство Соединенных Штатов всегда решительно отстаивало, так это принцип верховенства закона”, — написал он.

An article on the Russian-language news site Ria Novosti featured content from a Fox News segment.

The narratives advanced by the Kremlin and by parts of conservative American media have converged in recent months, reinforcing and feeding each other. Along the way, Russian media has increasingly seized on Fox News’s prime-time segments, its opinion pieces and even the network’s active online comments section — all of which often find fault with the Biden administration — to paint a critical portrait of the United States and depict America’s foreign policy as a threat to Russia’s interests. Mr. Carlson was a frequent reference for Russian media, but other Fox News personalities — and the occasional news update from the network — were also included.

Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, who has made several false claims about the war — including that Russia never attacked Ukraine — singled out Fox News for praise last month.

“We understood long ago that there is no such thing as an independent Western media,” Mr. Lavrov told the state television station RT, adding that “only Fox News is trying to present some alternative point of view.”

Mentions of Fox News in Russian-language media grew 217 percent during the first quarter of this year compared with the final quarter of last year, as news coverage of Ukraine increased, according to an analysis by Zignal Labs, a media tracking company that reviewed social media posts, broadcast media and online websites. CNN, which has about three times the global viewership of Fox News, according to the tracking company Similarweb, was mentioned more often but grew less, by 71 percent.

Fox News in Russian Media

Weekly mentions of Fox News on Russian-language media surged before and during the invasion of Ukraine.

Note: Includes social media, cable television, and print and online outlets.

Source: Zignal Labs

By The New York Times

When reached for comment, a Fox News spokeswoman pointed to segments in which Mr. Carlson was critical of Russia and its president, Vladimir V. Putin.

To better understand Fox News’s presence in Russian state media, The New York Times reviewed nearly 500 Russian-language articles mentioning Fox News between July and late March, sourced from the two largest state news agencies in the country — RIA Novosti and TASS — along with dozens of articles from other Russian-language media.

Here are four ways Russian media has used Fox News to bolster the government’s narrative about the war.

1. Blaming NATO expansion

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Feb. 24, 2022

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U.S. Colonel: “The first thing we must do is accept Putin's point of view” Полковник США: “Первое, что мы должны сделать, - это принять точку зрения Путина”

Полковник США: "Первое, что мы должны сделать, - это принять точку зрения Путина." Полковник армии США в отставке Даг МакГрегор призвал принять позицию России и Путина.

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“We should acknowledge that. Stop pretending that’s a non-issue.”

“Нам нужно это признать. Прекратить притворяться, словно это не проблема”, - завил он в эфире Fox News.

An article on the Russian-language news site Tsargrad featured content from a Fox News segment.

The echoing narratives were clear from the eve of the invasion. Mr. Putin warned that he would use “military technical measures” if threatened by NATO.

When Douglas Macgregor, a retired Army colonel, repeated Russia’s argument on Mr. Carlson’s show, it didn’t take long for Russian news media to cite him.

“He pointed out that Russia does not want to see American and NATO troops near its borders, just like the U.S. wouldn’t want to see Russian troops in Cuba,” said one article from Tsargrad, a pro-Putin Russian television channel. “This is a perfectly logical position.”

Tsargrad was started in 2015 with help from John Hanick, a former Fox News producer. Mr. Hanick was charged last month with violating U.S. sanctions. Federal prosecutors accused him of helping a Russian oligarch spread “destabilizing messages.”

2. Buttressing conspiracy theories

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March 10, 2022

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This journalist almost swore after learning the truth about U.S. laboratories in Ukraine Журналист чуть не выругался, узнав правду о лабораториях США на Украине

США безосновательно обвинили Россию в распространении дезинформации о биолабораториях на Украине, потому что позднее они фактически подтвердили их существование, заявил в эфире FoxNews телеведущий Такер Карлсон.

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“I’ll try not to use profanity on the air to describe our reaction. Our jaws dropped, let’s leave it there. Under oath in an open committee hearing, Victoria Nuland just confirmed that the Russian disinformation they’ve been telling us for days is a lie, and a conspiracy theory, and crazy and immoral to believe, is in fact, totally and completely true.”

“Попробую использовать в эфире ненормативную лексику, чтобы описать нашу реакцию: челюсти попадали, скажем так. Под присягой на открытых слушаниях комитета Виктория Нуланд подтвердила, что российская дезинформация, которую они днями называли ложью, теорией заговора, сумасшествием, в которое аморально верить, на самом деле целиком и полностью правда”, – цитирует Карлсона РИА Новости.

An article on the Russian-language news site Radio Sputnik featured content from a Fox News segment.

The unsupported idea that the United States was developing bioweapons in Ukraine has been nurtured for years in Russia. It found new resonance during the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia-Ukraine War: Key Developments

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On the ground. Russia is moving forces to Ukraine’s eastern border, the Pentagon says, as both sides prepare for a confrontation there. In the south, the Russian military appeared close to capturing Mariupol, a win that would allow Moscow to establish a land bridge between Russia and the occupied territory of Crimea.

After a Senate hearing on the matter, in which Victoria Nuland, an under secretary of state, confirmed the existence of biolabs in Ukraine, Mr. Carlson used his show to suggest that the U.S. government was being untruthful about conducting bioweapons work in the country. Russian media seized on the segment.

“The U.S. baselessly accused Russia of spreading disinformation about biolabs in Ukraine because they later actually confirmed their existence, TV presenter Tucker Carlson told Fox News,” Radio Sputnik wrote in an article summarizing Mr. Tucker’s lengthy segment for a Russian audience.

3. Questioning the West’s goals

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March 17, 2022

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An American politician believes that the United States is forcing Zelensky’s hand toward massacre Американский политик считает, что США подталкивают Зеленского к бойне

НЬЮ-ЙОРК, 18 марта. /ТАСС/. Бывший служащий спецназа США Джо Кент (республиканец от штата Вашингтон), баллотирующийся на выборах в нижнюю палату Конгресса, считает, что американские политики подталкивают украинское руководство к бойне, пренебрегая дипломатией. Таким мнением он поделился в эфире телеканала Fox News.

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“There is a peace offer on the table, but we’re leading Zelensky on and leading them down the path to further slaughter, and not encouraging them to follow this pass of diplomacy.”

По словам республиканца, кандидатуру которого в Конгресс поддержал бывший американский лидер Дональд Трамп, эскалация на Украине служит “отличным способом отвлечь внимание от политического кризиса” внутри США.

An article on the Russian-language news site TASS featured content from a Fox News segment.

Interviews with pundits and politicians were also used to undermine the West’s support of Ukraine. Joe Kent, a Republican candidate for the House from Washington State, said on Fox News that the West’s support of Ukraine was killing people, because the support was giving Ukraine an incentive not to agree to a peace deal with Russia.

TASS quickly repeated his criticisms.

“According to the Republican, whose candidacy was supported by former U.S. leader Donald Trump, the escalation in Ukraine is ‘a great way to divert attention from the political crisis’ within the United States,” the article said.

4. Criticizing President Biden

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April 3, 2022

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In the United States, the truth about why Biden is helping Ukraine has been revealed В США раскрыли правду о том, почему Байден помогает Украине

МОСКВА, 3 апр — ПРАЙМ. Администрация Белого дома умышленно разжигает конфликт на Украине, чтобы отвлечь внимание американских граждан от реорганизации внутреннего энергетического рынка. Об этом заявил телеведущий Такер Карлсон в эфире Fox News.

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“You wouldn’t want to think that your government would intentionally exacerbate the suffering of millions of Ukrainian civilians in order to take over America’s energy grid. But that seems to be exactly what is happening right now.”

“Вы бы не хотели признать, что ваше правительство намеренно усугубляет страдания миллионов украинских граждан, чтобы захватить энергетическую сеть США, но, похоже, именно это сейчас и происходит”, — сказал он.

An article on the Russian-language news site Prime featured content from a Fox News segment.

Russian media frequently highlighted stories from Fox News that were critical of President Biden.

Nearly 400 Russian-language stories mentioned Fox News the week that Mr. Biden directed an under-the-breath expletive at Steve Doocy, a Fox News reporter, according to Zignal Labs. The exchange was repeated for weeks in stories criticizing the president’s fitness for the job.

As the invasion began, attention shifted to questioning Mr. Biden’s motives. One article by Prime, a Russian news agency, detailed Mr. Carlson’s argument that Mr. Biden had encouraged the conflict to make “fossil fuels unaffordable for the average person and that way, people would have no choice but to switch” to renewable energy.

“The broadcaster said such reforms would jeopardize American industry, impoverish entire cities and make the United States dependent on Chinese solar panels,” the article said.