Iran-aligned media and online networks joined Russia- and China-linked actors in pushing false or inflammatory narratives after US conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead earlier this month according to US officials and outside researchers.
Monitoring firm NewsGuard said on Wednesday that official outlets in China, Russia and Iran mentioned Kirk more than 6,000 times from September 10–17, frequently framing the shooting as a conspiracy and recycling unsubstantiated claims.
“The more confusion and mistrust they can inject right after a breaking news event, the harder it becomes for people to know what’s true,” McKenzie Sadeghi, NewsGuard’s editor for AI and foreign influence, said.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox said earlier this week that authorities were tracking “a tremendous amount of disinformation” and bot activity urging violence; he did not cite specific accounts.
Police have charged a 22-year-old suspect and said he acted alone. Authorities have not linked the killing to any foreign government.
Analysts and media reports say the narratives diverged: pro-Kremlin channels sought Ukraine links; Beijing-aligned accounts highlighted US polarization and gun violence; and Iran-linked outlets and influencers promoted anti-Israel conspiracy theories.
Pro-Iranian groups say Israel was behind Kirk’s death and that the suspect was set up to take the fall, according to New York Times.
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