After the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, social media claims offering political views of the assassination and the reaction to it quickly spread. One message falsely claimed that “not a single Republican condemned” the targeted shooting of a Democratic politician in Minnesota in June. Many Republicans, including President Donald Trump, condemned it.

Kirk, the founder of the conservative youth political group Turning Point USA and an ally of Trump, was speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10 when he was shot and killed. He was 31 years old. The FBI said on Sept. 11 that it had recovered what is believed to be the weapon used, “a high-powered bolt action rifle,” and law enforcement was still searching for a suspect. The FBI released images of a “person of interest.”

Trump and politicians of both political parties, including former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, made statements condemning the killing and expressing condolences. A reader asked us about the validity of one social media message that highlighted the statements of Democrats and then falsely said Republicans hadn’t offered similar condemnations of political violence after the murder of a Democrat a few months ago.

A Sept. 10 post on X, which received more than 6 million views, wrongly said: “I would like it to be noted that every Democrat on Twitter,” including Newsom, “is condemning the shooting of Charlie Kirk but not a single...

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