The hard right pushed a number of common conspiracy theories after Charlie Kirk’s killing — among them antisemitic narratives falsely claiming that Jewish people or Israel orchestrated his killing.
These extremists seized upon Kirk’s documented remarks, such as, “Jewish donors have been the No. 1 funding mechanism of radical open-border, neoliberal, quasi-Marxist policies, cultural institutions and nonprofits … not just the colleges; it’s the nonprofits, it’s the movies, it’s Hollywood, it’s all of it” and the foundation of “anti-whiteness has been largely financed by Jewish donors in the country.” Many argued that the murder of Kirk was payback for challenging supposed Jewish power. Overall, his killing became an online vessel for both explicit and coded claims, amplifying antisemitism and the charge of Israeli retribution as a conspiratorial motive.
The modern political right in the United States has been split internally over the paradoxical support for the nation of Israel by political leaders and the regular amplification of common antisemitic tropes by these same leaders. This approach has created confusion among the broader public and even shielded leaders like President Donald Trump and allies of Kirk and the organization he founded, Turning Point USA, from accusations of antisemitism.
One common antisemitic trope rests on the assertion that Jewish people, on the whole, are responsible for actions of the Israeli government or that Israel is conflated solely with Jewish people. As with the antisemitic conspiracy theories that swirled after the Kirk killing, movements, organizations and people committed to equality are portrayed as tools manipulated by Jewish people to undermine or remake society. Jewish people are portrayed as manipulative puppet masters behind various schemes — or, in the case of the Kirk murder, as the vehicle behind the killing.
One sample search of mainstream and alternative social media platforms indicated that while there were nearly no posts about antisemitic conspiracy theories featuring Kirk in the month prior, there were over 18,000 posts on social media in the three days following the murder.
In the hours after the attack, thousands of posts appeared on social media making such declarations as “Israel killed Charlie Kirk,” echoing old tropes and conspiracy theories. Far-right conspiracy theorist Stew Peters gave voice to one of the most widely circulated claims, stating it was “pretty obvious that Israel ordered the hit after Charlie started noticing” the supposed control Israel and Jewish people have in the United States. Some posts echoed classic antisemitic myths, linking Kirk’s death to a larger pattern of violence and assassinations supposedly committed by Jewish people.
Neo-Nazi Christopher Pohlhaus of Blood Tribe falsely claimed the murder was part of an anti-white global takeover by the “untermensch mob,” a reference to Jewish conspiracies for a “one world government.”
An X user offered a conspiratorial post in the days after Kirk’s death: “The Jews killed Charlie Kirk, the Jews killed JFK, the Jews, the Roth town [a reference to Ashkenazi Jewish people] same thing President Lincoln. They’re all complicit in death when someone gets popular and powerful. They get assassinated and is always because of the Jews.”
“Israel did 9/11 and assassinated Charlie Kirk,” stated another X user in the sample. These were among the social media posts conflating Kirk’s shooting with a pattern of supposed Jewish responsibility for traumatic world events.
Candace Owens, long known for amplifying antisemitic conspiracy theories, claimed that Kirk was “offered a ton of money” to influence his political stances but refused. She later stated he had informed people at Turning Point that “he had no choice but to abandon the pro-Israel cause, outright. OK, Charlie was done,” a comment seemingly meant to cast suspicion on Kirk’s overall pro-Israel record. Owens also claimed that Kirk wanted to bring her back into the organization in which she had once had a formal role and that then “he just 48 hours later” was murdered, “before our on-stage reunion could happen.” This allegation added further weight to her narrative that Jewish figures sought to silence Kirk as he reconsidered his prior alignment with Israel.
Owens further asserted, “I don’t like little lies. I’m being contacted by a lot of people, people that are telling me at just within 48 hours before Charlie passed away, his top Jewish donors were pulling funding from him, demanding that Charlie take their name off of the building that they had donated to Turning Point, I guess I can figure out who that is.” These claims, lacking credible evidence, reveal how Owens mobilized conspiracy theories about Jewish and Israeli influence to frame Kirk’s death as the result of hidden pressure and betrayal, tapping into a familiar pattern of antisemitism within her commentary.
Others pointed out that the date of Kirk’s shooting — one day before the anniversary of 9/11 — suggested Israeli or Mossad involvement due to historical conspiracies. Some posts claimed Kirk was assassinated by Mossad, Israel’s spy agency, to force the president to submit to Israeli rule.
On the white nationalist social media site Gab, one user falsely claimed Kirk was murdered because he had named that Zionist Jewish propaganda was targeting white people. A Reddit user claimed: “I think the Deep state Killed Charlie Kirk. Either Mossad or the CIA or some part of the American government. I also now believe the Trump shooting was staged.”
Infowars host Harrison H. Smith claimed on X that he had special knowledge that Kirk was scared Israel was going to kill him if he turned against it. Antigovernment conspiracy theories often cite special insider knowledge and lean on existing bias.
Image at top: Photo illustration by the SPLC. (Source images from iStock)