MAGA'S HORST WESSEL
Alexa Lisitza
Wed, September 10, 2025
BUZZFEED
Earlier today, conservative personality and prominent Trump ally Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at a Utah Valley University event.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Donald Trump announced news of his passing on Truth Social, writing, "The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us."
Truth Social: @realDonaldTrump / truthsocial.com
In light of these events, Kirk's vocal pro-gun stance is being reexamined.
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
One moment from 2023 is going particularly viral. In a resurfaced video from a Turning Point USA event, Kirk says, "We must also be real. We must be honest with the population. Having an armed citizenry comes with a price, and that is part of liberty."
"Driving comes with a price. Fifty thousand people die on the road every year. That's a price. You get rid of driving, you'd have 50,000 less auto fatalities. But we have decided that the benefit of driving — speed, accessibility, mobility...is worth the cost of 50,000 people dying on the road."
"We need to be very clear that you're not going to get gun deaths to zero. It will not happen," he continues. "But I think it's worth it. I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year, so that we can have the Second Amendment."
Twitter: @JasonSCampbell
He goes on to suggest that efforts to stop shootings should include more armed guards at locations and events.
Rebecca Noble / Getty Images
Video of Kirk's 2023 talk has reached millions of new viewers, many of whom are leaving comments saying the speech "aged like milk."
Twitter: @yumipill
Graphic video of Kirk shooting was everywhere online, showing how media gatekeeper role has changed
DAVID BAUDER
Wed, September 10, 2025
FILE - Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk speaks before Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives at the Turning Point Believers' Summit, July 26, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)More
They were careful with the explicit imagery — as usual. But did it make any difference?
Traditional news organizations were cautious in their midafternoon coverage of Charlie Kirk's assassination Wednesday not to depict the moment he was shot, instead showing video of him tossing a hat to his audience moments before, and panicked onlookers scattering wildly in the moments after.
In practical terms, though, it mattered little. Gory video of the shooting was available almost instantly online, from several angles, in slow-motion and real-time speed. Millions of people watched.
Video was easy to find on X, on Facebook, on TikTok, on Instagram, on YouTube — even on Truth Social, where President Donald Trump posted official word of the conservative activist's death. It illustrated how the “gatekeeping” role of news organizations has changed in the era of social media.
Kirk was shot at a public event before hundreds of people at a Utah college campus, many of them holding up phones to record a celebrity in their midst and savvy about how to disseminate video evidence of a news event.
On X, there was a video showing a direct view of Kirk being shot, his body recoiling and blood gushing from a wound. One video was a loop showing the moment of impact in slow-motion, stopping before blood is seen. Another, taken from Kirk's left, included audio that suggested Kirk was talking about gun violence at the moment he was shot.
For more than 150 years, news organizations like newspapers and television networks have long been accustomed to “gatekeeping” when it comes to explicit content — making editorial decisions around violent events to decide what images and words appear on their platforms for their readers or viewers. But in the fragmented era of social media, smartphones and instant video uploads, editorial decisions by legacy media are less impactful than ever.
Images spread across the country
Across the country in Ithaca, New York, college professor Sarah Kreps' teenage sons texted her about Kirk's assassination shortly after school was dismissed and they could access their phones.
No, she told them. He was shot, but there were no reports that he had died. Her son answered: Have you seen the video? There's no way he could have survived that.
The videos were posted and reposted at lightning speed. One person on X urged “stop the violence” but then included a clip of the shooting. Several people took to social media to plead for people not to spread the images. “For the love of God and Charlie's family,” read one message, “just stop.”
YouTube said it was removing “some graphic content” related to the event if it doesn't provide sufficient context, and restricting videos so they could not be seen by users under age 18 or those who are not signed in, the company said.
Matthew Dowd on MSNBC wonders if Charlie Kirk shooting may have been “supporter shooting their gun off in celebration.”
“Our hearts are with Charlie Kirk's family following his tragic death,” YouTube said. “We are closely monitoring our platform and prominently elevating news content on the homepage, in search and in recommendations to help people stay informed.”
Meta's rules don't prohibit posting videos like Kirk's shooting, but warning labels are applied and they are not shown to users who say they are under 18. The parent company of Instagram, Facebook and Threads referred a reporter to the company's policies on violent and graphic content, which they indicated would apply in this case, but had no further comment. An X representative did not immediately return a request for comment.
It's an issue social media companies have dealt with before, in equally gruesome circumstances. Facebook was forced to contend with people wanting to livestream violence with a mass shooting in New Zealand in 2019, said Cornell University's Kreps, author of the forthcoming book, “Harnessing Disruption: Building the Tech Future Without Breaking Society.”
Getting to the other side
Some images seeped out into more traditional media. TMZ posted a video of Kirk in which a shot and a voice saying, “Oh, my God,” can be heard, but Kirk’s upper body was blurred out. A similar video with a blurred image of Kirk was posted on the New York Post’s website.
In such an atmosphere, the care shown by most traditional news outlets may seem quaint or old-fashioned. But news industry leaders are acutely aware of protecting people from graphic images when they are not expecting it; happening upon them is a little harder online, where many people have to search for and click on an image if they want to see it — if it hasn’t already been sent to you or your group chat.
There can also be an important message sent by news outlets being cautious in what they show, Kreps said. “The traditional media can amplify and validate behavior,” she said. “It can be a signal for how things should be stigmatized, rather than validated or normalized.
But on the day of the shooting in a politically polarized country, the easy availability of shocking images ran the risk of making society's wound even more painful.
“I don't see how many signs of how we get — as a people, as a nation — to the other side of this,” said CNN's David Chalian. “I think we are broken, and potentially beyond repair.”
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AP correspondent Barbara Ortutay in San Francisco contributed to this report. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him a
Trump Pours Gas On The Flames With Incendiary Statement On Charlie Kirk Assassination
Mollie Reilly
Wed, September 10, 2025
President Donald Trump quickly placed blame for conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination on the rhetoric of the “radical left,” despite no evidence yet indicating the shooter’s motive.
In a video message posted by the White House on Wednesday evening, Trump mourned the loss of Kirk, a fierce ally of the president’s who helped Trump build support among young conservatives.
Politics: Wall Street Journal Warns Donald Trump: This Excuse Won’t Work ‘For Much Longer’
“I am filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah,” Trump said. “Charlie inspired millions, and tonight all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror.”
Trump continued: “He’s a martyr for truth and freedom, and there’s never been anyone who was so respected by youth.”
After praising Kirk for his commitment to his Christian faith, Trump pivoted to blaming the shooting on the “radical left,” claiming that people who described Kirk as a Nazi are “directly responsible.”
“It’s long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree,” Trump said. “For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.”
There is currently no suspect in custody, nor are there any indications from investigators of the shooter’s possible motive.
Trump said his administration would track down every person who “contributed to this atrocity.” He then went on to list several acts of violence he blamed on the “left,” including the 2024 assassination attempt against him, the shooting at a congressional baseball team practice in 2017 that left Rep. Steve Scalise injured and the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year.
“Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives,” Trump said.
Trump did not mention any of the many recent examples of violence against left-leaning politicians, including the shooting of two Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota this summer
Trump’s comments are likely to fuel further calls from his most fervent supporters to seek retribution for Kirk’s death.
On Fox News, host Jesse Watters vowed to “avenge” Kirk’s death.
“Everybody’s accountable,” he said.
Billionaire and erstwhile Trump ally Elon Musk offered a similar message to the president on X: “The Left is the party of murder.”
“THIS IS WAR,” declared Libs of TikTok’s Chaya Raichik.
Wed, September 10, 2025
President Donald Trump quickly placed blame for conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination on the rhetoric of the “radical left,” despite no evidence yet indicating the shooter’s motive.
In a video message posted by the White House on Wednesday evening, Trump mourned the loss of Kirk, a fierce ally of the president’s who helped Trump build support among young conservatives.
Politics: Wall Street Journal Warns Donald Trump: This Excuse Won’t Work ‘For Much Longer’
“I am filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah,” Trump said. “Charlie inspired millions, and tonight all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror.”
Trump continued: “He’s a martyr for truth and freedom, and there’s never been anyone who was so respected by youth.”
After praising Kirk for his commitment to his Christian faith, Trump pivoted to blaming the shooting on the “radical left,” claiming that people who described Kirk as a Nazi are “directly responsible.”
“It’s long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree,” Trump said. “For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.”
There is currently no suspect in custody, nor are there any indications from investigators of the shooter’s possible motive.
Trump said his administration would track down every person who “contributed to this atrocity.” He then went on to list several acts of violence he blamed on the “left,” including the 2024 assassination attempt against him, the shooting at a congressional baseball team practice in 2017 that left Rep. Steve Scalise injured and the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year.
“Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives,” Trump said.
Trump did not mention any of the many recent examples of violence against left-leaning politicians, including the shooting of two Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota this summer
Trump’s comments are likely to fuel further calls from his most fervent supporters to seek retribution for Kirk’s death.
On Fox News, host Jesse Watters vowed to “avenge” Kirk’s death.
“Everybody’s accountable,” he said.
Billionaire and erstwhile Trump ally Elon Musk offered a similar message to the president on X: “The Left is the party of murder.”
“THIS IS WAR,” declared Libs of TikTok’s Chaya Raichik.
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