Several days ago, Rep. Adam Kinzinger quote-tweeted Joe Walsh, whose tweet had a quote purported to be something Tucker Carlson said:
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 https://t.co/1Vw4zYAMpD
— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) April 5, 2022
That was too much for even Politifact to handle, and they ruled the claim that Carlson said that “false”:
On April 4, Joe Walsh, a former Republican congressman from Illinois, tweeted what some people interpreted as a direct quote from Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
“.@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?’” the tweet said.
That evening, Walsh tweeted a clarification: “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.”
But obviously the Never Trump Republican congressman is in no hurry to remove that tweet:
this Adam Kinzinger quote tweet of a fabricated Tucker Carlson quote is still up days later https://t.co/Oz8ARFSQdk
— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) April 9, 2022
This is where it gets *chef’s kiss*:
Adam Kinzinger just spoke at the Atlantic's conference on disinformation. https://t.co/yA0KA5OMqw
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) April 9, 2022
LOL — days after suggesting Tucker Carlson is a Russian asset while quote tweeting a fabricated Carlson quote, Adam Kinzinger spoke at The Atlantic’s “Disinformation & the Erosion of Democracy” conference on a panel titled “Targeted by Lies: How Disinfo Spurs Political Violence.” pic.twitter.com/b8oGnOyRGR
— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) April 9, 2022
The Atlantic’s “disinformation” conference might have set a new record for projection. The real journalists were the students in the audience who pointed out all the hypocrisy on the stage.
***
Related:
Join the conversation as a VIP Member