Did Ukraine kill an American Journalist?

Question

Post claims that Ukraine cancelled elections and killed an American journalist. More claims in video, but these are the prominent ones.

Answer 1

This claim is misleading. It was difficult to identify who exactly Tucker Carlson is referring to when he mentions the death of an American Journalist, because of the more high profile death of Brent Renaud, another journalist who was killed in Ukraine in March of 2022. After some research, I discovered that the journalist to whom Tucker Carlson is referring is Gonzalo Lira. Lira was a Chilean-American journalist, who died in a Ukrainian prison in January of 2024. Lira’s death was covered by several news outlets, such as News Week, Tass, and the Helsinki Times (it should be noted that Tass is a Russian Newspaper). The context surrounding Lira’s death is what makes this claim misleading, as Carlson presented it as a sort of execution, carried out by the Ukrainian government. Based on the various other sources detailing Lira’s death, I found that he was well documented as an anti-Ukrainian government journalist, often “posting content online hostile to the Ukrainian government and its President Volodymyr Zelensky” (Newsweek). In May of 2023, Lira was arrested by the Ukrainian internal security agency, the SBU, after baselessly branding Zelensky a “cokehead”, and describing the Russian operation as “‘one of the most brilliant invasions in military history’” (Newsweek). The SBU cited “justifying Russian aggression against Ukraine” as their reasoning for the arrest. Lira would later be released on bail, and after allegedly violating his bail conditions in an attempt to flee Ukraine, he was rearrested. He developed severe illnesses in prison, and later died. There were claims that he was not receiving proper medical care, which from what I can find are solely from his father, who was naturally outraged. As far as the allegations against the Ukrainian and American governments surrounding his death, they do not present any evidence that his death was intentionally carried out, though it is obvious that he did not receive proper medical care. Carlson’s dialogue is evidently skewed in an anti-Ukraine position, and as such does not merit complete credibility in its portrayal of Lira’s death. 

https://www.newsweek.com/who-gonzalo-lira-pro-putin-american-expat-dies-ukrainian-jail-1860496

https://tass.com/world/1731801

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/world/europe/brent-renaud-irpin.html#:~:text=An%20award%2Dwinning%20filmmaker%20and,Another%20journalist%20was%20wounded.

https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/world-int/24744-the-tragic-end-of-gonzalo-lira-a-voice-silenced-in-ukraine.html

Comments

This is a very thorough and well-informed fact check. It’s detailed but easy to read for the average person. I also appreciate you explaining the background to this story/claim and how the claim is misleading (and why Carlson might exaggerate). Using multiple reputable sources like New York Times and Newsweek helps add credibility to your fact check. Good job!

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Great Fackcheck, Working with sources that are inherently vague and with not much contextual information are always difficult to research. However, despite that you did a lot of good research and made the factcheck clear and precise.

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This is a very thought out factcheck that brings up a lot of valuable information. You used some credible sources to back up your factcheck. Great job in explaining why the claim is misleading rather than just posting the sources. Your factcheck is also very clear and easy to follow. Great job!

Answer 2

This is true, but not exactly in the way that Tucker Carlson explains. If you are unfamiliar with Tucker Carlson it should be well noted that he is known for his outwardly conservative viewpoint and association with Fox. His history includes a lawsuit regarding defamation in the 2020 election for alleged collusion and fraud against Dominion Voting Systems.

In this video on X, Carlson explains that the Ukrainian government closed elections because they could not win their war against Russia even with Western support such as the U.S. He makes not that we have sent a lot of funding to them to which Carlson does not support nor thinks our country should be due to Ukrainian government corruption.

He then claims that this corruption was noted by an American Journalist, and because Ukraine feared that would discourage western funding, he was killed.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/world/europe/brent-renaud-irpin.html

See my issue is that this issue is two years apart, so in total honesty I don't know if they are talking about the same journalist, but these other sources claim that Brent Renaud was in fact killed in the Russian onslaught, and not by Ukraine.

https://www.npr.org/2022/03/13/1086345532/american-journalist-killed-in-ukraine

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brent-renaud-ukraine-russia-american-journalist-killed/

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/13/media/russia-ukraine-brent-renaud-death-intl/index.html

Multiple other credible sources state that Brent Renaud was shot in the Russian onslaught that was explained, and not any further conspiracy to which Carlson offers.

The other thing to consider is what Carlson has to gain from this. His media company Fox, is likely in support of not sending allowances to Ukraine for their war, and they do make some very valid claims, but I don't believe that Ukraine would bite the hand that feeds them in this situation, and knowing he has a history of conspiracy and was literally in a lawsuit for accounts of defamation, I think it is safer to side on the case of the multiple other sources that explain a different narrative.

Regardless of what happened may he rest in peace.

Comments

I really appreciate your approach to this fact check. Not only did you back up your statements regarding the killed journalist, but you also gave context to Tucker Carlson and the possible motivation there may be for the misinformation.

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This is a fantastic fact-check that covers all your bases. Firstly, mentioning what Tucker Carlson stands to gain from spreading this information is relevant context. He is the agent, spreading the information, and has social and financial reasons for doing so. I will say, that in my own research, I found more claims regarding the killing of an American journalist during the first day of the attacks, but I doubt this is what Tucker Carlson is referring to, as these claims have been proven untrue.

Answer 3

This is misleading, and possibly disinformation. 

Tucker Carlson, who recently interviewed Vladimir Putin, states in his post that Ukraine killed an American journalist. However, this is not actually brought up in the video itself, and I was unable to find a post on Tucker's X that clarifies what he means. On further research though, Tucker Carlson posted that he had been informed of Gonzalo's death by his father. https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1745863377493143906

He is likely referring to Gonzalo Lira (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzalo_Lira), an alt-right commentator and journalist who was arrested for publishing pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian propaganda on social media, which is illegal under Ukrainian law. He passed away in prison from pneumonia in early 2024. This is likely what Carlson is referring to. https://www.nydailynews.com/2023/05/06/misogynist-dating-coach-gonzalo-lira-aka-coach-red-pill-arrested-in-ukraine-for-russian-propaganda/

https://www.newsweek.com/who-gonzalo-lira-pro-putin-american-expat-dies-ukrainian-jail-1860496

While Ukraine did not "kill" Lira, though there is the possibility they could have given Lira treatment for his pneumonia when he needed it. However, this is speculation without evidence. Given the evidence we have, the post is misleading. 

Comments

I am especially fascinated by your fact check because, unlike the other comments, you cite the death of Gonzalo Lira. The death of Brent Renaud was very public, but also occurred two years ago. After reviewing Carlson's Twitter account, I agree that the claim in this video seems to be in regard to Lira; he has multiple recent posts discussing him and theorizing about Ukrainian involvement in his death. According to Ad Fontes Media, your sources seem relatively reliable. I commend you on looking through Carlson's posts to determine who he was talking about.

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This answer does a great job of breaking down the sources and explaining their point of you. They quote the articles they site further show their proof. It does a great job of cementing their claim.

Answer 4

This claim is misleading. The Ukraine president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, did cancel the elections that were due this Fall. He said it was not the time for a political divide and the country needs to put all of their focus into Russia. So that part of the claim is true. The claims of Ukraine killing journalists is also true. Though the way the video that Tucker Carlson made frames these claims that what they are. He is a well known conservative Fox News representative. He has a problematic past of stirring things up politically and is not the most reliable source. The timeline of these claims is also a bit blurry and don't seem to actually be related to each other at all. That is why this claim is misleading, both claims tend to be true but the way the information is presented is not accurate. 

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-birthday-grenade-b1b82e4f84eb5a39286d1500cf49fcd1 

https://cpj.org/data/killed/europe/uk/?status=Killed&motiveConfirmed%5B%5D=Confirmed&motiveUnconfirmed%5B%5D=Unconfirmed&type%5B%5D=Journalist&type%5B%5D=Media%20Worker&cc_fips%5B%5D=UK&start_year=1992&end_year=2024&group_by=location

Answer 5

In March of 2022, Brent Renaud — American journalist and filmmaker — was shot and killed by Russian forces in Ukraine. Renaud was working on a "project focused on the global refugee crisis," for Time Studios according to Times executives. He was killed in Irpin outside the capital of Kyiv. 

I got my information from CBS News, Politico , and The New York Times.