Bluesky tells users not to celebrate Charlie Kirk’s assassination as posts praise killing
Platform warns glorifying violence violates rules after dozens of posts rejoiced in the fatal shooting of the conservative activist at a Utah college event
Bluesky warned users on Thursday that celebrating the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk violated its community rules, after dozens of posts on the platform praised his killing following a shooting at Utah Valley University.
The company said on its safety account that "glorifying violence or harm violates Bluesky’s Community Guidelines," adding that it reviews reports and takes action on content that celebrates harm. The warning came as clips of the shooting circulated widely across social networks and as other major platforms moved to remove or restrict celebratory material.
Kirk, 31, the founder of Turning Point USA, was shot in the neck Wednesday while speaking under a tent at the university. Police said a gunman fired from a nearby rooftop overlooking the courtyard. Kirk collapsed at the scene and later died at a hospital, officials said.
Raw video recorded by witnesses showed Kirk tossing hats to the crowd moments before he was struck. Most mainstream outlets avoided showing the moment of impact, but unedited clips spread quickly across social platforms, prompting rapid moderation responses.
Bluesky, which gained users after the 2024 election as an alternative to Elon Musk’s X, has used decentralized moderation and customizable feeds, features that appealed to some progressive users seeking refuge from other platforms. Company officials and outside analysts have said the platform’s rapid growth and partisan tilt pose challenges for moderation and broader reach.
Other major services announced steps to limit content tied to the killing. Reddit instructing moderators to remove posts that encouraged or glorified violence; Meta said it was taking down the most graphic content while adding warning labels and restricting access for younger users; Discord said it was actively removing videos and content that violated its policies; and YouTube said it was elevating news coverage, stripping graphic clips and age-restricting content that mocked or reveled in an identifiable person’s death. TikTok and X did not immediately comment.
Authorities said the suspected shooter wore dark clothing and fired a single shot from a rooftop before fleeing. FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X that one person detained after the attack was later released and that another individual had been questioned and freed. Investigators from federal, state and local agencies said they were combing security footage and canvassing neighborhoods near the Orem campus.
"You try to get your bases covered, and unfortunately, today, we didn’t," Orem Police Chief Jeff Long said, describing security at the event. Roughly 3,000 people were in attendance, police said. Turning Point USA announced plans for a memorial rally in Phoenix and described Kirk as having "given his life for freedom." Funeral arrangements were not immediately released.
Kirk had built a national profile since founding Turning Point USA in 2012 through combative campus speeches, frequent television appearances and advocacy of conservative causes. He was a close ally of former President Donald Trump; Trump posted on Truth Social confirming Kirk’s death and praising his connection with young conservatives. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the shooting "horrific" and warned that the assassination could prompt further political violence.
The killing is being treated by investigators as a political killing and drew comparisons to a July 2024 attack on a Trump campaign event in Pennsylvania in which a gunman fired into a crowd, killing one person and injuring others.
The episode highlighted the persistent challenge for social platforms in balancing free expression with the need to police violent rhetoric, particularly when real-time, user-generated video can spread widely before moderators can act. Company spokespeople and platform policies emphasized removals of material that glorified violence, while law enforcement continued to investigate the shooting and search for the person who fired the shot.