FACT FOCUS: Assassination of Charlie Kirk prompts flood of false and misleading claims online

A flood of false and misleading claims filled social media in the two days it took officials to arrest and publicly identify 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the suspect in Wednesday’s assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.

The reaction followed a well-worn pattern of misinformation and conspiracy theories that often come after breaking news events when facts can be fluid. Those kinds of posts appeared within hours of the shooting, with some of the earliest incorrectly identifying the gunman before officials had released any information about a suspect. More claims spawned on Thursday and Friday, presenting old videos and photos as recent footage of the shooter and erroneously reporting on Robinson’s background.

Here’s a look at the facts.

CLAIM: Robinson is a registered Republican.

THE FACTS: This is false. Utah records say Robinson was registered as a voter, but not affiliated with either political party. His voter status is inactive, meaning he did not vote in two regular general elections after receiving a notice from his county clerk. According to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Robinson’s family said he had become “more political in recent years” and had criticized Kirk, mentioning that he was due to appear at an event in Utah and saying “Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate.” Cox stated that ammunition found at the scene was engraved with taunting, anti-fascist and meme culture messaging.

___

CLAIM: Robinson is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

THE FACTS: This is false. Priscilla Yeverino, spokesperson for the group, confirmed that “we have no members in DSA named Tyler Robinson anywhere in the country.” A photo of a person who bears a resemblance to Robinson wearing a Salt Lake City DSA shirt with the slogan “bee the change” has been used to support this claim. Yeverino declined to confirm that person’s identity “for this person’s privacy and safety.” Prior to Robinson’s arrest, many on social media were quick to assume the shooter was a Democrat and prominent conservative figures, including President Donald Trump, blamed liberal politics for Kirk’s death.

__

CLAIM: A video of a man running toward a parking lot shows the shooter escaping.

THE FACTS: This is false. killed three people and injured three others at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, running from the front of the resort in the direction of its front parking lot. Multiple died in the hospital days later. A version of the misrepresented video included a caption falsely stating: “video shows Charlie Kirk’s real shooter escaping.”

___

CLAIMS: Democrats opposed a moment of prayer for Kirk in the House.

THE FACTS: This is misleading. On Wednesday, the House observed a “moment of prayer for Charlie Kirk and his family” at the request of Speaker Mike Johnson. A subsequent request for a “moment of prayer out loud” elicited vocal objections and chaos on the House floor. Footage shows members standing silently for about 30 seconds. Johnson then bangs his gavel and Rep. Lauren Boebert says that “silent prayers get silent results” before requesting that someone lead a spoken prayer as well. An audible “no” can be heard in response, among other protests. Shouting continues for about a minute, requiring Johnson to bang his gavel and state, “the House will be in order” several times. In the commotion, Johnson also says: “We will join for prayer right after this, OK?” Many posts claiming that Democrats had opposed a moment of prayer for Kirk shared clips that omitted Johnson’s initial request and the ensuing silence.

___

CLAIM: The shooter was identified as Michael Mallinson or George Zinn.

CLAIM: This is false. Robinson was named as the suspected shooter on Friday. Others, including Mallinson and Zinn, were misidentified as the shooter as authorities searched for a suspect. Mallinson is a 77-year-old Toronto resident who told the CBC that he found out he had been wrongly accused after waking up from a nap and receiving a panicked call from his daughter telling him to delete his social media accounts. He said that before the shooting he had “never heard of Charlie Kirk.” Mallinson bears a resemblance to a man named George Zinn, who was filmed being dragged away handcuffed by two officers. The video spread widely on social media after the shooting. The Utah Public Safety Department said in a statement that it “initially took in George Zinn as a suspect,” but that he was later released and charged with obstruction. The statement said Zinn, as well as a second person who was taken into custody and released after interrogation, has “no current ties to the shooting.”

___

Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.