Russia tries to exploit divisions sparked by Kirk’s murder, researchers say

Russia, China and Iran all tried to take advantage of the assassination of Charlie Kirk to exacerbate divisions in the U.S.

Russia and other foreign adversaries have pounced on the assassination of Charlie Kirk as an opportunity to spread propaganda aimed at aggravating U.S. political divisions and painting America as an unstable country on the decline, according to researchers.

Soon after the news broke about Kirk’s murder, Russian state media and pro-Kremlin voices on social media suggested that the United States was poised for a possible civil war and that dark conspiracies — possibly involving elements of a “deep state” — had played a role in the murder.

Chinese state media portrayed the attack as yet another example of a troubled society in decline, plagued by political disorder and gun violence. State media posted video of lawmakers arguing in Congress and highlighted U.S. experts discussing a climate of violence.

Iran’s media posted baseless allegations that Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency had possibly orchestrated Kirk's killing.

In the week after the conservative activist was shot at Utah Valley University, state media in Russia, China and Iran mentioned Kirk 6,200 times from Sept. 10 (the day of the shooting) to Sept. 17, according to a report from the fact-checking site NewsGuard.