Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

X posts
stated on April 4, 2022 in a tweet:
Says Tucker Carlson said, “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?”
true false
Ciara O'Rourke
By Ciara O'Rourke April 7, 2022

No, Tucker Carlson didn’t say this about Ukraine staging dead bodies

If Your Time is short

  • Some people have interpreted a tweet about Tucker Carlson and Ukraine to mean that he suggested the country staged dead bodies. But he didn’t say that. 
 

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."

Carlson addressed the original tweet on his show the following night. 

"He claimed that this was a verbatim quote from our show," Carlson said. "Quote: ‘What if the bodies of tortured dead civilians are staged? What if they're fake? What if Ukrainian military killed them and blamed Russia? Not saying any of this is true, just asking questions. Why can't we ask questions?’ End quote."

Sign up for PolitiFact texts

Carlson went on to say that the quote "isn’t real." 

"It’s completely made up," he said. "We didn’t say that, we didn’t say anything like that, we didn’t even address the topic on the air in any way." 

Featured Fact-check

RELATED VIDEO
 

Russia has said without evidence that "fake dead bodies" were "staged" in Bucha after its troops left the town. Carlson, meanwhile, has been criticized for echoing Russian talking points. On March 9, for example, Carlson said a Russian claim that Ukraine has bioweapon labs was "totally and completely true," but there’s no evidence that’s the case, PolitiFact reported

But this talking point, about staged bodies, wasn’t one Carlson made. 

We rate claims that he said the words that appeared in Wash’s tweet False.

 

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Ciara O'Rourke

No, Tucker Carlson didn’t say this about Ukraine staging dead bodies

Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!

In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.

Sign me up