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Chinese and pro-Iranian groups also spread disinformation about the shooting, with those loyal to Iran鈥檚 interests backing antisemitic conspiracy theories while bots linked to Beijing claimed Kirk鈥檚 death shows that the United States is violent, polarized and dysfunctional.

America鈥檚 adversaries have long used fake social media accounts, online bots and disinformation to depict the U.S. as a dangerous country beset with extremism and gun violence. Kirk鈥檚 killing has provided another opportunity for those overseas eager to shape public understanding while inflaming political polarization.

鈥淐harlie Kirk鈥檚 Death and the Coming Civil War,鈥� tweeted Russian ultranationalist Alexander Dugin, whose influence earned him the moniker 鈥淧utin鈥檚 brain,鈥� referring to Russia鈥檚 president. Pro-Russian bots blamed Democrats and predicted more violence. Russian state media published English-language articles with headlines claiming a conspiracy orchestrated by shadowy forces: 鈥淲as Charlie Kirk鈥檚 Killer a Pro?鈥�

Foreign disinformation could undermine efforts to heal political divisions or even spur further violence.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen multiple Russian campaigns attempting to exploit鈥� Kirk鈥檚 killing, said Joseph Bodnar, senior research manager at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. In many cases, the campaigns aren鈥檛 adding new claims but are recycling ones that emerged from American users. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e picking up domestic actors and amplifying them.鈥�

Adversaries tailor disinformation

In each case, those spreading the disinformation tailored it for their own ends. Chinese propaganda focused on the violent nature of Kirk鈥檚 death, painting the U.S. as a nation of violent gun owners and political extremists.

Russian voices tried to tie Kirk鈥檚 death to U.S. support for Ukraine, even spreading a conspiracy theory that the Ukrainian government killed Kirk because of his criticism of that aid.

Pro-Iranian groups took a different tack, claiming Israel was behind Kirk鈥檚 death and that the suspect was set up to take the fall.

False and misleading claims can spread quickly after big news events as people go online to look for information. Artificial intelligence programs that can create lifelike video and audio can make it even harder to find the truth, as can AI chatbots that routinely offer up false information.

It happened again following Kirk鈥檚 killing, when misinformation about the shooting and the suspect quickly spread online.

In recent years, groups looking to spread confusion or distrust seized on hurricanes, wars, the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, the COVID-19 pandemic and other disasters, as well as the attempted assassinations of President Donald Trump.

The details vary, but the conspiracy theories pushed by foreign adversaries all suggest American institutions 鈥� the government, the media, law enforcement, health care 鈥� are failing and can no longer be trusted, and that more violence is likely.

C

alls to crack down

Regardless of the source of the information, social media companies should do more to stop both foreign disinformation and domestic calls for violence, said Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, which tracks online disinformation.

Posts calling for retaliatory violence after Kirk鈥檚 death have been seen 43 million times on X alone, according to the center鈥檚 research, though it can鈥檛 say which posts came from foreign sources.

Platforms like X 鈥渁re failing catastrophically to limit the reach of posts that celebrate murder and mayhem,鈥� Ahmed said.

Russia, China and Iran all denied targeting Americans with disinformation. Officials in China specifically pushed back on claims that Chinese social media bots are being used to amplify false claims about the Kirk shooting.

鈥淐hina condemns all unlawful and violent acts. That said, we firmly oppose some US politicians accusing China of 鈥榠nstilling disinformation and encouraging violence,鈥欌�� a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry posted to social media.

For foreign adversaries looking to sow discord in the U.S., disinformation can be highly effective 鈥� and cheap. For authorities trying to keep the public informed, the false claims about Kirk鈥檚 death are a potentially dangerous effort to hijack American discourse.

鈥淭here is a tremendous amount of disinformation we are tracking,鈥� Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, said at a recent news conference about Kirk鈥檚 killing. 鈥淲hat 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.鈥�

Cox urged people to ignore bogus claims that seem designed to elicit fear 鈥� and suggested that Americans log off social media and spend time with family instead.