Social media is full of conspiracy theories about the Kirk murder.

A "tremendous amount of misinformation" is circulating online following the murder of American conservative political activist Charlie Kirk . Conspiracy theories, false identifications of the killer, and fake online profiles claiming to have exclusive information.

The alarm was raised by Utah's Republican governor, Spencer Cox . But several global organizations are highlighting how Kirk's assassination, which took place during a public meeting at Utah Valley University on October 10, has become fertile ground for fake news and false interpretations. Kirk, 31, was married with two children, aged one and three.

The most popular artificial intelligence chatbots have also contributed to creating the climate of disinformation, having recently spread unconfirmed news or invented articles even though they were attributed to authoritative sources such as the BBC and CNN.

Chatbots' incorrect responses: "Kirk isn't dead"

Chatbots have recently generated confident responses, even in the absence of verified information, during rapidly evolving news events. This trend has fueled misinformation on platforms that have significantly reduced human fact-checking and content moderation, such as X.com, Facebook, and Instagram.

The day after Kirk, a prominent ally of President Donald Trump , was shot and killed, the AI ​​chatbot Perplexity’s account X falsely claimed that the activist had never been shot and was “still alive,” a NewsGuard investigation confirmed.

Again. When posts containing a genuine video of Kirk being shot began circulating on social media, the X account of Grok, Elon Musk's AI-powered chatbot, claimed it was a satirical video, a fake video, created with AI.

Grok accuses an innocent man of being the murderer

"The video is a doctored meme: Charlie Kirk is arguing and the special effects make it look like he's being 'hit' while he's speaking, for comical effect. There's no actual damage: he's fine and active as always," Grok wrote in response to one user.

Grok also falsely claimed that a Utah-based Democrat named Michael Mallinson had been identified as the shooter, misattributing the information to major news outlets such as CNN and the New York Times. Mallinson, in reality, is a 77-year-old retired Canadian banker living in Toronto. When contacted by local media, he said he was "shocked" by the thousands of social media posts naming him as the perpetrator.

Meanwhile, conspiracy theories are spreading. Some claim his assassination was carried out by the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, which sought to punish Kirk for his "America First" theories, which called for a gradual US disengagement from the Middle East. Others cite false pro-Kremlin sources who spread the idea that Kirk had ended up on the Ukrainian Myrotvorets blacklist, which lists alleged enemies of Ukraine. This information was apparently spread and popularized by chatbots that relay it.

Polarization is fertile ground for propaganda

A complicated picture, then, made even more complex by the potential interference of foreign propaganda in this process. According to Governor Cox, "What we're seeing is that our adversaries want violence. We have bots from Russia, China, and around the world trying to spread disinformation and encourage violence. I encourage you to ignore them, turn off those channels, and spend a little more time with our families," said the conservative American politician.

There's no evidence. But it's nothing new that moments as deeply divisive as the one America is currently experiencing have become the target of disinformation campaigns by foreign actors. The goal is to polarize public opinion and undermine the social stability of a country deemed hostile.

The times of journalism and those of social media: where the spread of falsehoods originates.

Breaking news often triggers a frantic search for new information on social media, often leading to incorrect conclusions that are then repeated by chatbots, contributing to increasing online chaos. Misinformation. Polarization. Confirming facts requires time that the reality of social media and the speed of digital communication cannot wait, much less respect.

The wave of misinformation comes at a time of great instability in the United States following Kirk's assassination, with many right-wing influencers from Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) political base calling for violence and "revenge" against the left. The motives of the gunman involved in the shooting, who is still at large, are unknown. But social media is already hunting for the killer and those who celebrated him. Screenshots and photos are circulating on X.com, with people accused of cheering Kirk's death, fueling tension and hatred online.