Is Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky behind Tucker Carlson’s exit from Fox News?

Media baron Rupert Murdoch reportedly had a phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky weeks before firing Fox News'star anchor Tucker Carlson, according to Semafor news outlet.

Though a clear connection between the two events cannot be established, the timing of Carlson’s unceremonious exit, who has been critical of Zelensky, after the phone call has raised eyebrows.

Murdoch’s son and heir apparent, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch, also spoke with the Ukrainian president on March 15, the outlet reported.

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The outlet quoting senior Ukrainian officials reported that Zelensky did not raise Carlson’s critical coverage of the Ukraine war during his phone conversation with the Murdochs, even though the government had expressed objections with the Fox executives in the past.

According to the report, both Rupert and Lachlan talked with Zelensky about the war in Ukraine and the deaths of two Fox News journalists in Ukraine last March.

Last week, Fox fired the controversial prime-time host Tucker Carlson without providing any reason. It was speculated that Carlson was sacked by the channel’s owner, Rupert Murdoch for, among other things, using vulgar language to describe a female executive.

The development came a week after Fox News agreed to pay voting equipment company Dominion $787.5m to settle a high-profile defamation lawsuit.

Tucker Carlson's exit costs FOX $690 million

In an official statement, Fox Newsdid not disclose the reason, saying that both Carlson and the network had “mutually” agreed to separate.

On Monday, Carlson’s slot was immediately replaced with a rotating roster of hosts until a permanent replacement can be found, the network said. In his video on Wednesday, Carlson implied his fans had not seen the last of him.

“Where can you still find Americans saying true things?” he said. “There aren’t many places left but there are some and that’s enough. As long as you can hear the words, there is hope. See you soon.”

Carlson’s alleged bias 'while covering Ukraine war

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Carlson was seen extensively criticising Zelenky’s administration.

On an episode of "Tucker Carlson Tonight" last month, Carlson argued that "leaked intelligence" showed "Ukraine is in fact losing the war" and claimed "seven Ukrainians are being killed for every Russian."

The leaked documents he cited actually suggest Russian troops have seen over twice as many casualties as Ukrainian troops.

According to a Washington Post report, during a Fox newsroom meeting, Rupert Murdoch"loudly" challenged Carlson about one of his segments on the Ukraine war.

(With inputs from agencies)

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