President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Lachlan Murdoch, the CEO of the broadcasting giants Fox Corporation and News Corp., as well as journalists from Fox News and News Corp-owned tabloid The Sun during their visit to Kyiv, the President's Office reported on Nov. 20.
Zelensky thanked Murdoch, as well as Fox News journalist Benjamin Hall and The Sun journalist Jerome Starkey, for their coverage of the war in Ukraine. He awarded Hall with the Order of Merit III class award "for his outstanding personal contribution to strengthening interstate cooperation, support for Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity."
Hall was injured by Russian fire in Ukraine in March 2022, and two of his colleagues were killed.
Murdoch and the journalists also met with Presidential Office Head Andriy Yermak earlier.
Fox News is the most successful asset of the Fox Corporation, a sister company of News Corp. and the top-rated cable news network in the U.S.
It has a conservative bent and is typically associated with support for the Republican Party.
Its most popular political commentator and talk show host, Tucker Carlson, had a primetime show from 2016-2023.
Before and after the full-scale invasion, Carlson often made remarks defending Russia, as well as spreading Russian propaganda about Ukraine. His televised comments were at times used by Russian state-run media to try and demonstrate that segments of the U.S. supported Russia and that there was division among the country about the U.S.'s role in the war.
Carlson was fired by Fox Corporation in April 2023. Although the company did not officially give a reason for his termination, it was widely speculated that it was because of leaked private messages where he criticized the company's management.
Since his departure from Fox, Carlson has maintained an online presence, especially on Twitter, where he has continued to spread misinformation about Ukraine, as well as making comments bearing a similarity to Kremlin talking points about the war.
Alexander Khrebet
