Claim
Putin spent more than an hour trying to convince a world leader that Gershkovich really was a spy
Attributed to Evan Gershkovich
Evidence
A search found that this quote comes directly from an excerpt of Evan Gershkovich's own memoir, published in The Wall Street Journal, and reported on by Meduza (a respected independent Russian-language outlet). Meduza's article, titled "He's an idiot. Evan Gershkovich says Putin spent more than an hour trying to convince a world leader that the WSJ reporter really was a spy," quotes Gershkovich recounting that after his release, an unnamed 'world leader' involved in the prisoner swap told him Putin had spent over an hour insisting Gershkovich was genuinely a spy who had been 'caught red-handed,' calling him 'an idiot' who was 'too obvious.' The article also notes Tucker Carlson corroborated to Gershkovich that Putin held this belief, based on a February 2024 interview Carlson conducted with Putin in Moscow.
Supporting sources
Assessment
The claim is a direct, accurately attributed quote from Gershkovich's own published memoir excerpt in the Wall Street Journal, corroborated by Meduza's reporting; it is correctly attributed to Gershkovich as his own recollection, not a third-party rumor or fabricated claim, though the underlying private conversation with the unnamed world leader cannot be independently verified beyond Gershkovich's account.
Confidence
Independent, reputable sources corroborate (or refute) this claim directly.
Timeline
Sep 28, 2026, 9:46 AM UTC
ConfirmedInitial assessment.
First observed Sep 28, 2026, 9:46 AM UTC · Last reviewed Sep 28, 2026, 9:46 AM UTC