Russia capitalizes on the discord instigated by Kirk's murder, according to scholars' claims
In the aftermath of the tragic assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025, foreign media outlets have been accused of exploiting the incident for political gain.
According to reports, Darren Linvill, the director of Clemson University's Watt Family Innovation Center Media Forensics Hub, has stated that there is little evidence to suggest foreign propagandists made significant efforts to inflame the issue with fabricated social media accounts. However, several countries, including Russia, China, and Iran, have maintained covert online influence operations that often stress divisive narratives when aimed at American audiences.
Russian state media, in particular, has devoted extensive coverage to Kirk's assassination. Emerson Brooking, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab, noted this extensive coverage, stating that it resembles Russia's coverage of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump last year, which it blamed on Kyiv. Russian state media also promoted conspiracy theories, including that elements of an American "deep state" had engineered Kirk's assassination.
Artem Dmitruk, a pro-Russian former member of Ukraine's Parliament, went as far as to claim without evidence that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy's government had worked to prevent Trump from being re-elected and that the murder of Kirk was part of the same plot. Russian state media and pro-Kremlin voices on social media suggested that the United States was poised for a possible civil war following Kirk's assassination.
Chinese state media portrayed the attack as an example of a troubled society in decline, plagued by political disorder and gun violence. Iran's media posted baseless allegations that Israel's Mossad intelligence agency had possibly orchestrated Kirk's killing.
It is worth noting that in the week following Kirk's murder, state media in Russia, China, and Iran mentioned Kirk over 6,200 times from September 10 to September 17. However, the countries that mentioned Charlie Kirk more than 6,200 times on their state media and social media between September 10 and 17, 2025, are not explicitly listed in the available information. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly rejected conspiracy claims about Israel's involvement shortly after Kirk's assassination, indicating that Israel was a topic in related discourse.
In a worrying development, the Trump administration has shut down teams across the federal government that tracked and analysed information warfare waged by Russia and other foreign adversaries. Earlier this year, the Global Engagement Center, which had flagged foreign disinformation campaigns in the past, was closed. The State Department said Wednesday it had halted what was left of its effort to track foreign disinformation campaigns.
Despite the allegations, there is no evidence of a conspiracy related to Kirk's murder. Prosecutors say the shooting suspect who has been charged, Tyler Robinson, is a U.S. citizen who acted alone.
As the investigation into Kirk's assassination continues, it is crucial for the public to remain vigilant against the spread of misinformation and for governments to maintain efforts to combat foreign influence operations.
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