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Tucker Carlson—whose prolific record of spewing racist, inflammatory, and generally awful bile on national television—is now essential viewing for fans of Vladimir Putin.

That’s the word from David Corn, who got his hands on a leaked Kremlin memo instructing Russian media outlets to feature Carlson and his pro-Putin talking points in broadcasts. The memo calls it “essential” to do this “as much as possible.”

You can check out photos of the memo here. (We’re not publishing the full document in order to protect Corn’s source.) But the top takeaway touting Carlson as a must-watch for Kremlin-friendly media should genuinely concern you. Remember, Carlson boasts the largest total audience on cable news. Millions of Americans are closing out their evenings by consuming pro-Putin views during a war rife with misinformation—and that’s on top of the vitriolic programming Carlson so regularly supplies.

Stay tuned to this space to see if Carlson, or as New York once brilliantly called him, the “sentient pair of pleated khakis,” responds to Corn’s reporting tonight on his show.

P.S. Have you been thinking, “I wish I could do something about the war in Ukraine?” Our CEO Monika Bauerlein has been wondering the same.

One way to stand up to Putin, she writes, is to help save Meduza, the largest independent news site still operating in Russia. Here at Mother Jones, we are enormously proud to be part of an international community of reader-supported newsrooms. As a Mother Jones reader, we believe that your support for Meduza will help keep bringing the truth to Russia in this especially perilous moment for independent journalism. Read more on the stakes here—and what you can do to help.

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