Famous host claims Israel and Hamas 'colluded' on October 7
American TV host Tucker Carlson, in a special episode marking the anniversary of October 7, promoted a conspiracy theory alleging Prime Minister Netanyahu's involvement in the Hamas attack. Carlson used statements from the late Charlie Kirk, presenting them as an accusation, although Kirk explicitly stated the opposite. The program presented no evidence.
American right-wing TV host Tucker Carlson, in a special episode marking the third anniversary of October 7, promoted a conspiracy theory that the Hamas attack was a 'false flag operation' and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu allegedly allowed it to happen to retain power. In the 95-minute program featuring commentator Dave Smith, Carlson referenced Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, who was killed last year. Carlson presented Kirk's words as an accusation against Netanyahu, although in the archived interview from October 12, 2023, Kirk explicitly stated that he was not claiming Netanyahu allowed the attack to happen. The author notes that Kirk advanced this version in the early days after the attack, when the scale of the failure was not yet fully understood. Carlson also claimed he found no American citizens killed on October 7 without Israeli citizenship and questioned the citizenship of hostage Edan Alexander. In the episode, Carlson accused Netanyahu of lying, opposed American aid to Israel, and without evidence claimed the death toll in Gaza is between 190,000 and 200,000. This is not the first time Carlson has promoted conspiracy theories about Israel.