Charlie Kirk Was Shot a Year Ago. The Conspiracy Theories Are More Rampant Than Ever

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—and worse—of anyone celebrating. Then, the conspiracy theories began.

It’s been one year since Kirk’s 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 about the incident.

Experts believe these conspiracy theories will continue for a long time to come. “There’s no reason to believe conspiracy theories about Kirk’s murder will lose steam anytime soon,” Jared Holt, senior researcher at Open Measures, tells WIRED. “If 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.”

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

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. This is the narrative that has been central to Owens’ monthslong conspiracy theory campaign. Her Kirk content has racked up hundreds of millions of views.

Owens’ success is fueled in large part by the way that social media platforms today encourage their users to post content. “X and YouTube are rife with speculation about Kirk’s death, where it is both still possible to recruit new audiences and monetize them,” Joan Donovan, assistant professor of journalism and emerging media studies at Boston University, tells WIRED.

The result is that Kirk’s death has become yet another rabbit hole, or a way for viewers to distract themselves from reality. “Candace and other conspiratorial influencers make things seem much more mysterious and exciting,” Renée DiResta, an associate research professor at Georgetown University who tracks disinformation, tells WIRED. “For many, her explanations are preferable to the reality of an act of violence by a solo individual.”

There have already been real-world repercussions: Researchers at the Network Contagion Research Institute recently found that “Candace Owens caused a measurable, statistically significant surge in death threats and calls for violence against [Charlie Kirk’s wife] Erika Kirk.” In May, a man was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill 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.

Erica Kirk and Turning Point have repeatedly called for Owens and others to stop spreading baseless rumors about the assassination. While those calls have not been heeded, Turning Point believes the impact the conspiracy theories are having is fading.

“The conspiracy theories have much less reach and potency now than they did six months ago, and I think I’ll say the same six months from now,” Andrew Kolvet, a Turning Point spokesperson, tells WIRED. “They won’t stop because many of these personalities were completely unknown and broke before Charlie was killed, and this is their moneymaker, but their influence and credibility have collapsed and will continue to do so.”

But some experts disagree, arguing that conspiratorial thinking has been an aspect of American life for decades.

“Historically, this is quite normal,” Joseph Uscinski, professor of political science at the University of Miami and author of American Conspiracy Theories, tells WIRED. “Majorities 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.”