Multiple Democrat influencers spread disinformation on Twitter Monday, when they shared a NeverTrumper’s viral tweet containing a fabricated quote attributed to Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
In the tweet, failed politician and fired radio show host Joe Walsh wrote: “@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?”
.@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?”
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) April 4, 2022
In truth, Carlson said no such thing on his program regarding recent reports of Russian war crimes in Bucha, Ukraine.
And even though “Tucker Carlson Tonight” was still eleven hours away, the fake quote was taken seriously by Walsh’s credulous followers, racking up more than 9,000 shares and 30,000 likes. It was retweeted by numerous bluechecks, including MSNBC host Joy Reid, screenwriter Randi Mayem Singer, Woke AF podcaster Danielle Moodie, Western States Center Senior fellow Wajahat Ali, liberal activist Amy Siskind, Trump impeachment prosecutor Daniel Goldman, a Democrat candidate from Ohio, and a former Obama White House official.
Laughably, the implausible quote was also shared by self-described “fact-checker” Luke Zaleski, a legal affairs editor of Condé Nast, and former research director of GQ Magazine.
“it should trouble every american that the right wing and trump are in absolute sync (and have been) with putin,” Zalenski wrote. “their talking points and anti-democratic actions and agendas are antagonistic to the rule of law and ongoing–and have led to two impeachments and an attack on congress”.
In a series of tweets, journalist Andy Ngo called out the Blue Anon influencers for falling for the fabricated quote.
.@ZaleskiLuke, the legal affairs editor of Condé Nast, the former research director of @GQMagazine & a partisan self-described "fact checker," amplified a completely fake quote attributed to Tucker Carlson. pic.twitter.com/aeVNHARj2b
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) April 5, 2022
Trump impeachment prosecutor & former federal prosecutor who served as counsel to House Democrats, @danielsgoldman, spread Joe Walsh's fake quote falsely attributed to Tucker Carlson. https://t.co/vbixQfwEqE pic.twitter.com/VN8K2WTfXh
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) April 5, 2022
Jeff Sites (@Sites4Congress), a Democrat running to beat Congressman @Jim_Jordan for Ohio's 4th congressional district, condemned "lies and propaganda" while spreading a fake Tucker Carlson quote. https://t.co/0h2yNfYvKk pic.twitter.com/Wf1vDg6Mtm
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) April 5, 2022
Alyssa Mastromonaco/@AlyssaMastro44, a former White House Deputy Chief under President Obama, spread the fabricated quote attributed to Tucker Carlson. She also worked for Vice Media & Marie Claire magazine. https://t.co/bJOM4eYjOc pic.twitter.com/IMFa06tUFq
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) April 5, 2022
Also on Monday, NeverTrump Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson fabricated a quote about the massacre to smear independent journalist Glenn Greenwald.
Liberal icon @TheRickWilson fabricated a quote, attributed it to me, and now his drooling Dem fans are saying this is proof I'm a traitor. They should transfer more of their paycheck to his account to satiate their rage.
*Fake quotes are fine with Twitter if for the right cause: pic.twitter.com/EjOxK8SwpF
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 5, 2022
Greenwald pointed out on Twitter that NeverTrumper Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) fell for Walsh’s hoax. “I gotta say, if @TuckerCarlson is not a Russian asset he should be, he overqualified for the job. Is he a Russian asset? I don’t know, I’m just asking questions,” Kinzinger tweeted.
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. pic.twitter.com/vhRaKDy6wE
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 5, 2022
Twelve hours after his fabricated tweet went viral, Walsh admitted that he had made the whole thing up.
“I tweeted this out this morning. I was predicting what Tucker Carlson would say “tonight,” he explained. “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.”
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. https://t.co/dxDLDjOPK1
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) April 5, 2022
In reaction to Ngo’s Twitter thread, Walsh wrote, “Now don’t u go fabricating stuff Andy. I tweeted that out yesterday morning, before last night’s show. And I purposely said “tonight,” predicting what he would say last night. It’s understandable that people thought he had already said it because that’s the kind of thing he says.”
However, Walsh allowed his tweet to go viral for twelve hours, during which time he retweeted two liberal influencers who had reacted negatively to the fabricated quote, without informing them that it was fake.
In a subsequent tweet, Walsh wrote that he “constantly” goes after Carlson and other conservative personalities because what they do is “dangerous,” and he’s “trying to defeat it.”
People ask me why I’m constantly going after Tucker, Hannity, Glen Beck, Laura Ingraham, Charlie Kirk, & all the rest.
Because I come from their world of right wing media. I know what they’re doing. I used to do it too. I know how dangerous it is. So I’m trying to defeat it.
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) April 4, 2022
He went on to claim that he left the right-wing media world because he “got sick of the dishonesty.”
Good questions @charlie_white. I left because I was constantly pressured to support Trump (I wouldn’t) & I got sick of the dishonesty. Most right-wing talkers won’t follow my lead because it’s a great gig that pays well. The same reason Republicans won’t speak out against Trump. https://t.co/MP3Sl2k4hk
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) April 5, 2022
Update:
Carlson had Greenwald on his show Tuesday night to discuss the the fake quotes that were attributed to them.
“Walsh is known for his willingness to say anything that might help the Democratic party whether it’s true or not,” Carlson said. The Fox News host then pointed out that Twitter allowed the blatant lie to stand. “It’s still up now,” he said, adding that he would have responded to Walsh’s disinformation, but he has been suspended for Twitter for stating accurately that Joe Biden’s “most famous admiral, Rachel Levine, was born a man.”
Tucker Carlson & @ggreenwald Respond To @WalshFreedom & @TheRickWilson Tweeting Out Fake Quotes From Them About Ukraine
Glenn: "I guess the only thing I can say for each of us is that we have the best possible enemies." pic.twitter.com/obGziwPjrz
— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) April 6, 2022