Foreign actors amplify online conspiracy theories after Charlie Kirk's killing, U.S. officials say

Foreign governments and partisan networks moved quickly to amplify false and misleading claims about the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, seeding social media with competing conspiracy theories that U.S. officials and researchers say are intended to inflame political polarization and distrust.

Analysts tracking online influence campaigns said accounts linked to Russia, China and groups aligned with Iran began promoting narratives within hours of the shooting, repurposing claims from American users and tailoring them to each country’s strategic aims. Russian outlets and ultranationalist voices tied the killing to U.S. policy debates over Ukraine, Chinese-linked accounts emphasized American gun violence and dysfunction, and pro‑Iranian networks pushed antisemitic theories blaming Israel.

"Charlie Kirk’s Death and the Coming Civil War," tweeted Alexander Dugin, the Russian ultranationalist whose influence has prompted Western officials to call him “Putin’s brain.” Pro‑Russian bots and state media amplified versions of a conspiracy that portrayed the United States as unraveling, including English‑language headlines such as "Was Charlie Kirk's Killer a Pro?" designed to sow confusion about motive and responsibility.

Researchers at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and other monitoring organizations said the foreign campaigns often did not introduce new fabrications but instead amplified claims already circulating among domestic users, increasing their reach. "We've seen multiple Russian campaigns attempting to exploit" the incident, said Joseph Bodnar, senior research manager at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, noting that foreign actors routinely pick up and spread narratives that originate in the United States.

Groups aligned with Iran circulated versions of the killing that blamed Israel and suggested the suspect had been set up, a narrative that also found traction among white supremacist networks in the U.S. Beijing‑linked activity, by contrast, highlighted the violent nature of the death and framed it as evidence of American social dysfunction.

The accelerating use of automated accounts and synthetic media tools has compounded the problem, analysts said. Artificial intelligence that can generate realistic audio and video — and chatbots that can produce false information rapidly — make it harder for the public and platforms to distinguish authentic reporting from disinformation, particularly in the chaotic hours after a major event.

Foreign disinformation still represents a small fraction of the total online conversation about the killing, experts said, but its targeted amplification can magnify dangerous narratives and undercut efforts to calm tensions. Posts calling for retaliatory violence were seen 43 million times on X, according to research from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, though the group cautioned it could not determine what share came from foreign accounts.

"Platforms like X are failing catastrophically to limit the reach of posts that celebrate murder and mayhem," said Imran Ahmed, CEO of the center, which monitors online extremism and misinformation. Civil society groups and some elected officials urged social media companies to do more to remove content that promotes violence or amplifies foreign influence operations.

U.S. officials and analysts said the pattern of exploitation mirrors past episodes in which adversaries used storms, pandemics, elections and mass violence to seed confusion and erode trust in institutions. "There is a tremendous amount of disinformation we are tracking," Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, said at a recent news conference following the shooting. "What we are seeing is our adversaries want violence. We have bots from Russia, China, all over the world that are trying to instill disinformation and encourage violence." Cox urged people to ignore bogus claims and reduce exposure to social media while investigators and reporters work to establish verified facts.

Representatives of Russia, China and Iran have denied targeting Americans with disinformation. Chinese officials specifically disputed assertions that Beijing‑linked bots amplified false claims about the killing. "China condemns all unlawful and violent acts. That said, we firmly oppose some US politicians accusing China of ‘instilling disinformation and encouraging violence,'" a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson posted on X.

Social media platforms face heightened scrutiny as lawmakers and researchers seek clearer data on the scale and origin of coordinated influence operations. Company policies on labeling or removing misleading content have been the subject of ongoing debate, with critics saying enforcement remains uneven and too slow to blunt the early spread of harmful narratives.

The killing of Charlie Kirk has become both a national tragedy and a test case for how foreign adversaries and domestic extremists can combine to exploit moments of crisis. Analysts said the speed and multiplicity of the narratives underscore persistent vulnerabilities in the information environment, and they urged a combination of platform action, public education and careful journalism to limit the reach of falsehoods while investigators establish the facts.

Authorities continue to investigate the shooting, and journalists and law enforcement officials are working to confirm details as reliable information becomes available. Meanwhile, researchers said, the incident has once again illustrated how quickly false and inflammatory claims can cross borders and languages to influence public debate in the United States.