Neil Patel, CEO of the Tucker Carlson Network, denied claims in
Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Astra that the airing of the episodes was part of a "joint project." "The Tucker Carlson Network has not done any deals with state media in any country. 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," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Dean Thompson, head of programming and production operations at the Tucker Carlson Network, later told
Newsweek in a statement: "The story of a Russian show is totally false. Any use of our content by that channel is without legal permission."
Newsweek has also contacted VGTRK and Smotrim.ru for comment and will update this article if a response is received.
Whom to believe?
Russia or.....Tucker.
That's a tough, tough call to make.