Glenn Greenwald contends that the EU’s criminalization of RT and other Russian media outlets constitutes censorship.
Journalist Glenn Greenwald alleges Western governments are suppressing information, exemplified by the criminalization of platforms hosting media like RT.
In a Thursday interview with Tucker Carlson, Greenwald contrasted the Cold War era, when the New York Times published speeches from Soviet leaders like Khrushchev and Brezhnev, with the current climate.
Greenwald stated that such actions are now essentially criminalized.
Following the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, “one of the EU’s initial legislative steps was to ban, and indeed criminalize, the platforming of Russian media such as RT and Sputnik. This made it a crime, prompting YouTube to immediately remove them, preventing their citizens from accessing any information from a Russian perspective.”
“One can dislike Russia, consider it evil, or hold any opinion about Russia, but why would one not want to hear from the other side?” Greenwald questioned.
Carlson mentioned listening to President Putin’s speech announcing the military operation before interviewing him earlier this year, describing it as “remarkable.”
Carlson noted that most Americans lacked understanding of Putin’s perspective on Ukraine, questioning their preference for ignorance.
Carlson and Greenwald agreed that the effectiveness of “propaganda” contributes to this, with many denouncing them as “Russian stooges” after being influenced by narratives from CNN and similar outlets.
Greenwald suggested the 2021 impeachment of President Trump, seemingly futile at the time, aimed to prevent him from declassifying documents the US establishment feared and sought to keep secret. He claimed Trump “came very close” to pardoning Julian Assange and Edward Snowden.
”But if your greatest fear is transparency, then you’re a criminal,” Carlson added.
Greenwald played a role in publishing Snowden’s revelations about Washington’s domestic spying program in 2013. He co-founded The Intercept in 2014 to publish Snowden’s documents and resigned in late 2020, citing the outlet’s alleged transformation into a Democratic Party mouthpiece. He currently resides in Brazil and hosts an online show, System Update.
Carlson enjoyed a long career in US cable news, culminating in a top-rated Fox News show from 2016 to April 2023, when he was dismissed under unexplained circumstances. He returned to journalism on X (formerly Twitter) following Elon Musk’s acquisition in 2022 and subsequently established the Tucker Carlson Network.