University of Kwazulu-Natal

After Charlie Kirk S Killing False Claims Flourish Online With Help

Bonisiwe Shabane
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after charlie kirk s killing false claims flourish online with help

POLITICO is the dominant source for politics and policy news around the world. Nobody knows politics like POLITICO. The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week unleashed a wave of false information about the shooter’s identity and motivation by U.S. adversaries, including Russia, China and Iran. Mentions of Charlie Kirk appeared more than 6,000 times across official media in China, Russia and Iran between Sept. 10-17, according to misinformation tracker NewsGuard.

These state-driven narratives contributed to the flood of false claims shared across social media following Kirk’s killing — and played directly into the hands of foreign adversaries, whose cyber operations seek to sow chaos... citizens, said McKenzie Sadeghi, NewsGuard’s editor of AI and foreign influence. “The more confusion and mistrust they can inject right after a breaking news event, the harder it becomes for people to know what’s true and who to trust,” Sadeghi said. “If people doubt law enforcement, journalists or democratic institutions, it weakens those institutions’ ability to act and communicate in a crisis.” Utah Governor Spencer Cox announced Friday that law enforcement had arrested the man suspected of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk on Wednesday. A flood of false and misleading claims filled social media in the two days it took officials to arrest and publicly identify 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the suspect in Wednesday's assassination of conservative activist...

The reaction followed a well-worn pattern of misinformation and conspiracy theories that often come after breaking news events when facts can be fluid. Those kinds of posts appeared within hours of the shooting, with some of the earliest incorrectly identifying the gunman before officials had released any information about a suspect. More claims spawned on Thursday and Friday, presenting old videos and photos as recent footage of the shooter and erroneously reporting on Robinson's background. Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. CLAIM: Robinson is a registered Republican. Kirk was killed Wednesday during an outdoor debate event on campus.

Students who witnessed his assassination are reckoning with trauma and grief. Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was a top podcaster, culture warrior and ally of President Donald Trump. (AP video by Thomas Peipert) The New York Young Republicans Club holds a vigil for Turning Point USA CEO and co-founder Charlie Kirk at Madison Square Park on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur)

A flood of false and misleading claims filled social media in the two days it took officials to arrest and publicly identify 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the suspect in Wednesday’s assassination of conservative activist... The reaction followed a well-worn pattern of misinformation and conspiracy theories that often come after breaking news events when facts can be fluid. Those kinds of posts appeared within hours of the shooting, with some of the earliest incorrectly identifying the gunman before officials had released any information about a suspect. More claims spawned on Thursday and Friday, presenting old videos and photos as recent footage of the shooter and erroneously reporting on Robinson’s background. A flood of false and misleading claims filled social media in the two days it took officials to arrest and publicly identify 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the suspect in Wednesday’s assassination of conservative activist... Social media has been awash in false claims, misinformation and conspiracies following the death of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead at Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday.

Some posts have garnered tens of millions of views, many claiming the incident was a hoax or that it was staged. Conspiracy sites like Infowars have also picked up on some of the narratives. CBC's visual investigation unit took a look at some of the most popular claims to separate fact from fiction using open, independently-verifiable sources of information. Some online commentators have have pointed out an apparently suspicious aspect of the incident: a black mark on Kirk's right upper chest and shoulder area, which appears to detach and disappear during the shooting. Users have raised doubts about the shooting as a whole or claimed that it was a pre-placed squib, or blood pack, a Hollywood method for faking a gunshot wound. In countless previous videos of events similar to the one held at UVU, Kirk has worn what appears to be an identical magnetic microphone clip or similar device in the same area on his...

In short, the black "mark" on Kirk's shirt is not an anomaly, but a regular feature of his public appearances. This now-deleted post on X, which had received close to 19 million views, raised questions as to why a private jet, flying under the designation N888KG, left Utah's Provo Airport shortly after the shooting. It also notes that the flight's transponder signal was lost roughly 30 minutes later, stating it "illegally turns off ADS-B radar." ADS-B radar refers to flight tracking technology that broadcasts plane positions, viewable via... On Sept. 10, 2025, Turning Point USA co-founder and conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was fatally shot during a Utah college speaking event. Politicians from all sides of the political spectrum, including U.S.

President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and former President Joe Biden, condemned the shooting. Snopes is working on fact-checking claims that have spread online after Kirk's death. We fact-checked his last words, as well as famous quotes, like a comment he made about Jewish money ruining the U.S. Here are six claims we've fact-checked about Kirk since the shooting: Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.

Charlie Kirk has been the target and source of multiple contested claims on social media; fact-checks and reporting since September–October 2025 show a mix of fabrications about events tied to Kirk, misattributions of language,... Independent outlets and watchdogs have both debunked specific viral stories—such as a fabricated Arizona State University speaking ban—and documented patterns in Kirk’s public statements that critics describe as promoting hateful or violent themes, leaving... 1. Viral event claims that fact-checkers say were invented and why that matters Several widely shared posts claimed Charlie Kirk was banned from speaking at Arizona State University in 2019, a narrative repeated as evidence of a victimhood or censorship arc. Fact-checking reporting in September 2025 examined administrative records and contemporaneous coverage and found no evidence that ASU issued a ban or that Kirk was formally prohibited from campus, concluding the story was entirely fabricated...

The Economic Times and related debunking pieces emphasize that misattributing institutional actions to a public figure creates a false backstory that amplifies outrage and simplifies complex campus controversies into shareable lies [3]. 2. Misquotes and context-stripping: how words get turned into myths Reporting credits: Seana Davis, Carmel Jaeslin, Shruthi Ramachandran, Neha Mustafi, Anagha TR, Reuters Fact Check Editing by Rod Nickel Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

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POLITICO Is The Dominant Source For Politics And Policy News

POLITICO is the dominant source for politics and policy news around the world. Nobody knows politics like POLITICO. The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week unleashed a wave of false information about the shooter’s identity and motivation by U.S. adversaries, including Russia, China and Iran. Mentions of Charlie Kirk appeared more than 6,000 times across official media in ...

These State-driven Narratives Contributed To The Flood Of False Claims

These state-driven narratives contributed to the flood of false claims shared across social media following Kirk’s killing — and played directly into the hands of foreign adversaries, whose cyber operations seek to sow chaos... citizens, said McKenzie Sadeghi, NewsGuard’s editor of AI and foreign influence. “The more confusion and mistrust they can inject right after a breaking news event, the har...

The Reaction Followed A Well-worn Pattern Of Misinformation And Conspiracy

The reaction followed a well-worn pattern of misinformation and conspiracy theories that often come after breaking news events when facts can be fluid. Those kinds of posts appeared within hours of the shooting, with some of the earliest incorrectly identifying the gunman before officials had released any information about a suspect. More claims spawned on Thursday and Friday, presenting old video...

Students Who Witnessed His Assassination Are Reckoning With Trauma And

Students who witnessed his assassination are reckoning with trauma and grief. Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was a top podcaster, culture warrior and ally of President Donald Trump. (AP video by Thomas Peipert) The New York Young Republicans Club holds a vigil for Turning Point USA CEO and co-founder Charlie Kirk at Madison Square Park on Fri...

A Flood Of False And Misleading Claims Filled Social Media

A flood of false and misleading claims filled social media in the two days it took officials to arrest and publicly identify 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the suspect in Wednesday’s assassination of conservative activist... The reaction followed a well-worn pattern of misinformation and conspiracy theories that often come after breaking news events when facts can be fluid. Those kinds of posts app...