In the wake of Tucker Carlson's revelation on X (formerly Twitter) regarding his upcoming interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the social media app, experienced a remarkable download surge, swiftly ascending to the summit of the US App Store overnight.
The former Fox News host's impending interview, slated to air on Thursday, sparked a frenzy of installations, propelling X to the pinnacle of the App Store charts and displacing Instagram Threads.
Preliminary data from Appfigures indicates that X witnessed a staggering 117,000 new downloads on Tuesday, up from 93,000 the day prior, based on a TechCrunch report. With the app's momentum continuing into the evening, further installation increases are anticipated.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, jubilantly declared the app's newfound status as the "#1 most downloaded app of any kind!" Carlson, in a video shared on X, delivered insights from central Moscow, explaining his rationale for securing Putin's first interview with a Western media outlet since the onset of Russia's incursion into Ukraine.
Notably, the Kremlin endorsed the interview, foreseeing Carlson's approach as a departure from Western media's perceived biased reporting on Ukraine. Given their interest in the Russia-Ukraine war's consequences, Carlson emphasized the need to enlighten Americans about Putin's objectives.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the recording happened Tuesday.
Tucker Carlson Criticized By Media
Amid the Ukraine crisis, Vladimir Putin's first interview with a Western journalist garnered attention. According to Steve Rosenberg, the BBC's Russia Editor, despite ongoing efforts by major media outlets to secure interviews with Putin, the Kremlin has consistently rejected requests, per the BBC.
The anticipation surrounding Tucker Carlson's interview with Vladimir Putin reverberated in Russian state media, marking a significant development in media coverage of the conflict. However, Carlson faced criticism from American and Russian journalists alike, with Anne Applebaum denouncing him as a propagandist with a history of bolstering autocrats.
If true, this would be disturbing indeed.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 7, 2024
One may agree with Tucker or not, but he is a major American journalist and such an action would greatly offend the American public. https://t.co/IYqOzfWHf9
While Carlson's interview with Putin marks a milestone, journalists underscored persistent endeavors by major outlets to secure interviews, underscoring the scrutiny surrounding the media personality's role and its potential impact on public perception of the Ukraine conflict.
Tucker Carlson has emerged as a prominent supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Known for his vocal defense of Putin, he previously asserted that anti-Putin sentiment had become a central focus of US foreign policy.
Human Rights Violations Continue
In the aftermath of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations has reported severe humanitarian crises, citing Russian forces for widespread atrocities, including rapes, torture, and killings in Ukraine. Russia, in violation of international law, has further annexed four additional regions in Ukraine, adding to its earlier illegal takeover of Crimea in 2014.
Amid new censorship laws criminalizing critical war coverage, over 1,000 independent Russian journalists have fled, while Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich faces espionage charges. Foreign reporters, including the BBC's Sarah Rainsford, were expelled.
Carlson is known for interviews with global leaders. His past interviews with Argentina's President Javier Milei and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán garnered hundreds of millions of views, according to Politico.
