Joe Walsh Sparks Twitter Furor After Posting Fake Tucker Carlson Quote on Russia

Alex GriffingApr 5th, 2022, 5:19 pm
 

Tucker Carlson

Former Republican Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) sparked an uproar on Twitter this week when he posted a tweet on Monday “predicting” what Tucker Carlson would say on his show.

The tweet read, “.@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?”

Walsh’s fictional quote quickly went viral as it played into the narrative that Carlson has been boosting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Carlson has since responded, calling Walsh’s tweet “a manufactured lie.”

Many notable commentators and critics of Carlson took it seriously and slammed the popular Fox News host.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), a prominent critic of Carlson, retweeted the fake quote and wrote, “I gotta say, if @TuckerCarlson is not a Russian asset he should be, he is absolutely over-qualified for the job. Is he a Russian asset? I don’t know, just asking questions.”

MSNBC host Joy Reid responded, “It’s almost like Tuckums is getting his show scripts straight from the Kremlin or the GRU…”

As it went viral, Walsh tweeted again commenting on the purpose behind the tweet, he explained:

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.

Walsh’s explanation wasn’t enough however to stop users online from taking it seriously.

Right-wing activist Andy Ngo documented many of the various reactions to the quote, writing, “.@WalshFreedom fabricated a quote attributed to Tucker Carlson that went viral & was quoted as real by journalists & influencers on Twitter.”


Glenn Greenwald responded by roasting Walsh, saying, “The incomparably dumb and unhinged @AdamKinzinger took a fabricated quote from long-time-deadbeat-dad-turned-liberal-hero @WalshFreedom, believed it true, and used it to declare a journalist a “Russian asset” – just as hordes of dumb liberals did with @TheRickWilson’s fake quote.” Greenwald was referencing Rick Wilson posting a similar “satirical” tweet imagining Greenwald’s reaction to accounts of Russians murdering Ukrainians.

“Given the claim is that fake quotes that go viral are just “satire” — even though hundreds of thousands of dumb liberals clearly believe them — make up some twisted quotes and attribute them to Joy Reid, Pete Buttigieg, or Anderson Cooper and see if you get away with it,” added Greenwald, calling out what he sees as a double standard on Twitter for conservatives and liberals.

Walsh responded the Greenwald, asking him, “why so nasty? I didn’t fabricate a thing. I sent that tweet b4 Tucker’s show, said “tonight” predicting what he’d say. And btw, @AdamKinzinger is a great public servant & patriot. And @TheRickWilson is a patriot as well.”

Walsh then added, “Happy to have you on my podcast to discuss.”

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Alex Griffing - Senior Editor

Alex Griffing is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Send tips via email: alexanderg@mediaite.com. Follow him on Twitter: @alexgriffing