There are two points getting conflated, and rightfully so. Tucker does spout off a ton of white supremacy and homophobic garbage to gain the popularity with the far-right and he used his platform to echo Kremlin propaganda. Both of those points likely paid very well.
When it comes to misinformation campaigns, yes. Putin appears to call most of the shots. When Putin does any kind of speech, he essentially gives talking points for Russian media to amplify and repeat ad-nauseam for weeks afterward. This is also picked up by right/far-right social media sites and reporters in the US.
While Tucker was likely a useful ally at first, it seems the relationship between Tucker and the Kremlin was fully weaponized leading up to when Trump took office. This has resulted in far-right politicians getting elected and almost by default, their direction is set by Putin and Russian misinformation.
While Putin may not directly “call the shots”, his agenda likey sets the tone for all of his stooges.
There are two points getting conflated, and rightfully so. Tucker does spout off a ton of white supremacy and homophobic garbage to gain the popularity with the far-right and he used his platform to echo Kremlin propaganda. Both of those points likely paid very well.
When it comes to misinformation campaigns, yes. Putin appears to call most of the shots. When Putin does any kind of speech, he essentially gives talking points for Russian media to amplify and repeat ad-nauseam for weeks afterward. This is also picked up by right/far-right social media sites and reporters in the US.
While Tucker was likely a useful ally at first, it seems the relationship between Tucker and the Kremlin was fully weaponized leading up to when Trump took office. This has resulted in far-right politicians getting elected and almost by default, their direction is set by Putin and Russian misinformation.
While Putin may not directly “call the shots”, his agenda likey sets the tone for all of his stooges.