Russian TV teases launch of Tucker Carlson show

Russian TV news channel Rossiya 24 has aired a trailer for a weekend show featuring former Fox News journalist Tucker Carlson.

The state-run broadcaster did not make clear whether it will feature original content or be a translation of his regular English-language videos on X.

Carlson abruptly left Fox News in April where his populist conservative takes were renowned.

Rossiya 24 has not yet said when the show will air.

The advert, first shared earlier this month, aired again on 22 September with the words "on the weekend" but no further details.

In it Carlson is seen repeatedly saying the word "Russia" - in what appeared to be clips spliced together from earlier broadcasts - and concludes with footage of him saying the word "24".

This was accompanied by on-screen text reading: "The high-profile American presenter is moving to another level. Here."

When at Fox News, Carlson was credited as being the highest-rated cable TV host. The 54-year-old was hugely influential as the anchor of a late night political talk show between 2016 and 2023.

His shows frequently set the agenda for conservatives and, by extension, the Republican party.

Populist conservative takes on issues ranging from immigration, crime, race, gender and sexuality featured often, with "woke" ideology being talked about.

His show was cited in the lawsuit from voting machine company Dominion over Fox News' reporting of the 2020 presidential election. Fox regularly discussed false claims that Dominion's machines were rigged against Donald Trump.

The broadcaster later settled the case with Dominion for $787.5m (£642m). Carlson left Fox News just days after the settlement.

Russian state TV channels have regularly cited his shows in the past - due in large part to his penchant for repeating dubious Kremlin claims about Ukraine.

"It might be worth asking yourself since it is getting pretty serious: What is this really about?" Carlson said on his show.

"Why do I hate Putin so much? Has Putin ever called me a racist? Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him? Has he shipped every middle-class job in my town to Russia?"

After his Fox News departure, he launched a new show on Twitter called "Tucker on Twitter", which later became "Tucker on X" after the social media network re-branded.

If Rossiya 24 airs translations of these broadcasts it won't be the first Russian company to do so - a YouTube channel called KarlsonTV has been publishing some of Carlson's shows in Russian for the past five years.

KarlsonTV, which now has more than one million subscribers, has been translating and publishing clips from Carlson's new shows, too.