Tucker Carlson is not on a Ukrainian ‘kill list’, despite social media rumors

Rumors circulating online that former Fox News host Tucker Carlson was placed on a Ukrainian “kill list” for his highly criticised interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin are false, according to a new report.

A photo supposedly showing Carlson among the names of those Ukrainian forces wanted dead has been misconstrued by social media commenters, according to an Associated Press analysis. Claims that Carlson has been sanctioned by the European Union for the interview were also shown to be false, the report states.

The photo circulating on social media shows a picture of Carlson and short biography describing him as a “pro-Russian propagandist”, as an “accomplice of Russian war criminals and occupiers”, and accuses him of attacks “on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

The image being used as evidence of the supposed kill list originated from the website of Myrotvorets Center, an NGO that studies threats to Ukrainian national security.

Carlson’s name was mentioned by the site, but it was on its “Purgatory” project list, which tracks people that are believed to have acted intentionally against Ukraine’s national security.

The former Fox News host has regularly taken a sympathetic view on Russia, even going so far as to say he “hopes Russia wins” around the time of Mr Putin’s initial push into Ukraine.

Carlson’s inclusion in the list is also not the result of his interview with Mr Putin; his name has appeared on the list since at least June 2023.

The rumor picked up steam on X/Twitter, the platform which hosts Carlson’s show.

One commenter posted the photo along with the false claim that it was a call for assassination.

“This POS dictator Zelensky has put Tucker Carlson on a ‘Kill List’ for interviewing Putin. Biden has helped him with your tax dollars,” the user wrote.

Myrotvorets is an “independent non-governmental organization created by a group of scientists, journalists and specialists in the study of signs of crimes against the national security of Ukraine, peace, the security of mankind and the international legal order”, according to its website. It is not a branch of the Ukrainian government.

The word “myrotvorets” is Ukrainian for “peacemaker.”

In addition to claims that Carlson was on a hit list, some social media users also claimed he was facing sanction by the European Union.

A spokesman for the EU, Peter Stano, denied those allegations on Thursday.

“Currently there are no discussions in the relevant EU bodies linked to this specific person, the name you mentioned, the American person who is in Moscow,” he said when asked specifically about Carlson.

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