Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said in a video posted to X on Tuesday that he is in Moscow to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Why it matters: Putin rarely gives interviews, particularly to Western journalists. Carlson, however, is cited frequently on Russian state TV because of his opposition to U.S. support for Ukraine's war effort, embrace of other Russian-friendly narratives and criticism of President Biden.

The big picture: Since his firing from Fox News last April, Carlson has made a point to interview populist world leaders on his digital show, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in August, Argentinian President Javier Milei in September, and former President Donald Trump, also in August.

Yes, but: It's unclear how much traction those sit-downs actually get compared to the millions of people that used to tune into his show on Fox News in primetime.

• While Carlson's interviews on X often get millions of "views," those numbers can't be compared to television viewership figures, which are not only vetted by third-parties but require 60 consecutive seconds of watch time to be considered a view.

Driving the news: Carlson said the interview would air "unedited" on his website and on X. He also accused the mainstream media of a pro-Ukraine bias and unwillingness to cover Putin's point of view.

• "Americans have a right to know all they can about a war they're implicated in," Carlson said.
• Carlson also claimed that "not a single western journalist has bothered" to interview Putin since the war began.

Reality check: Many journalists and media outlets would jump at the chance to conduct such an interview. The unwilling party has not been the Western media, but the Russian president.

• Two U.S. journalists, Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, are currently in jail in Russia for their reporting.