{"id":6822,"date":"2026-09-10T14:58:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T14:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=6822"},"modified":"2026-09-10T14:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T14:58:14","slug":"charlie-kirk-was-shot-a-year-ago-the-conspiracy-theories-are-more-rampant-than-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=6822","title":{"rendered":"Charlie Kirk Was Shot a Year Ago. The Conspiracy Theories Are More Rampant Than Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"


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In the days<\/span> after the assassination of conservative activist<\/a> and Turning Point<\/a> cofounder Charlie Kirk<\/a>, the online reaction was a mess. Graphic videos of the shooting were everywhere within minutes<\/a> of his death, far-right figures called for violence and vengeance<\/a>, and right-wing lawmakers and influencers called for the cancellation<\/a>\u2014and worse\u2014of anyone celebrating. Then, the conspiracy theories began<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been one year since Kirk\u2019s death, and conspiracy theories about the shooting have persisted, supercharged by social media algorithms and right-wing influencers like Candace Owens, who has used her huge following to push baseless allegations<\/a> about the incident.<\/p>\n

Experts believe these conspiracy theories will continue for a long time to come. \u201cThere\u2019s no reason to believe conspiracy theories about Kirk\u2019s murder will lose steam anytime soon,\u201d Jared Holt, senior researcher at Open Measures, tells WIRED. \u201cIf anything, I expect them to escalate further as the criminal trial against Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing Kirk, plays out over the next year or so. The trial is bound to draw major media attention and offer conspiracy theorists a source of new material to work from.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the immediate aftermath of Kirk\u2019s death<\/a>, some conspiracy theorists claimed the assassination was a false flag operation designed to deflect attention away from President Donald Trump\u2019s connections to Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>. Others claimed the entire thing was staged<\/a>. There was the AI-powered gun theory<\/a>, the claim that the shooter was a Kirk supporter<\/a>, and even claims that Kirk was still alive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But ultimately, the baseless claim that persisted is that someone close to Kirk, or operating on behalf of Israel, was responsible for his death, that Robinson was simply a patsy and what really killed Kirk was an exploding microphone<\/a>. This is the narrative that has been central to Owens\u2019 months-long conspiracy theory campaign<\/a>. Her Kirk content has racked up hundreds of millions of views.<\/p>\n

Owens\u2019 success is fueled in a large part by the way that social media platforms today encourage their users to post content. \u201cX and YouTube are rife with speculation about Kirk\u2019s death, where it is both still possible to recruit new audiences and monetize them,\u201d Joan Donovan, assistant professor of journalism and emerging media studies at Boston University, tells WIRED.<\/p>\n

The end result is that Kirk\u2019s death has become yet another rabbit hole, or a way for viewers to distract themselves from reality. \u201cCandace and other conspiratorial influencers make things seem much more mysterious and exciting,\u201d Ren\u00e9e DiResta<\/a>, an associate research professor at Georgetown University who tracks disinformation, tells WIRED. \u201cFor many, her explanations are preferable to the reality of an act of violence by a solo individual.\u201d<\/p>\n

There have already been real world repercussions: Researchers at the Network Contagion Research Institute recently found<\/a> that \u201cCandace Owens caused a measurable, statistically significant surge in death threats and calls for violence against [Charlie Kirk\u2019s wife] Erika Kirk.\u201d In May, a man was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill<\/a> Erica Kirk ahead of her appearance at a Turning Point USA event in San Antonio, though the man has yet to be charged. Owens did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Erica Kirk and Turning Point have repeatedly called for Owens and others to stop<\/a> spreading baseless rumours about the assassination. While those calls have not been heeded, Turning Point believes the impact the conspiracy theories are having is fading.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe conspiracy theories have much less reach and potency now than they did six months ago, and I think I\u2019ll say the same six months from now,\u201d Andrew Kolvet, a Turning Point spokesperson, tells WIRED. \u201cThey won\u2019t stop because many of these personalities were completely unknown and broke before Charlie was killed and this is their money maker, but their influence and credibility has collapsed and will continue to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

But some experts disagree, arguing that conspiratorial thinking has been an aspect of American life for decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistorically, this is quite normal,\u201d Joseph Uscinski, professor of political science at the University of Miami and author of American Conspiracy Theories<\/em>, tells WIRED. \u201cMajorities of Americans have believed for decades that JFK was killed by a conspiracy rather than by a lone gunman. In fact almost 80 percent of Americans believed in the 1970s there was a conspiracy behind the assassination.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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In the days after the assassination of conservative activist and Turning Point cofounder Charlie Kirk, the online reaction was a mess. Graphic videos of the shooting were everywhere within minutes of his death, far-right figures called for violence and vengeance, and right-wing lawmakers and influencers called for the cancellation\u2014and worse\u2014of anyone celebrating. Then, the conspiracy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1343,455,457,75,131,1344],"class_list":["post-6822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-charlie-kirk","tag-conspiracy-theories","tag-extremism","tag-politics","tag-republicans","tag-shooting"],"yoast_head":"\nCharlie Kirk Was Shot a Year Ago. 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