Social media coverage of Kirk shooting forces reckoning on how violent news is digested

Published September 17, 2025 4:16pm ET



In the week since the assassination of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk in Utah, experts say social media has played a damaging role in how its users consume violent content and how law enforcement engages with misinformation amid rapidly developing events.

Before Kirk’s alleged assassin was arrested late last week, theories abounded on social media about the shooter’s identity and motivation. Not long after the fatal shooting, online investigators misidentified the shooter as one of several people: George Zinn, Michael Mallinson, or Skye Valadez.

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