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Fact check:

Following the murder of right-wing conservative American Charlie Kirk, numerous statements allegedly made by him are circulating. There is truth to these allegations.

Pro-Trump activist Charlie Kirk has died. He was shot on September 10, 2025, during an event at Utah Valley University and later died. Since then, various claims about the circumstances of his death have circulated on social media.

Statements allegedly made by him are also being discussed on social media. 20 Minutes has investigated three.

Charlie Kirk dies in assassination attempt

Right-wing conservative US activist Charlie Kirk was shot on September 10 and died in the hospital a few hours later. The incident occurred at an event at Utah Valley University.

Here you can find more stories on the topic:

• Several videos are said to show the assassination attempt on Charlie Kirk.Who was Charlie Kirk? His career as a right-wing influencer and co-founder of the organization Turning Point USA.
• After the minute of silence for Charlie Kirk, a dispute broke out in the US Congress.
Charlie Kirk leaves behind his wife, Erika Frantzve, and their two children.
Donald Trump blames the radical left for Kirk's death.
• .
Video shows Kirk assassin on the run.
• .
These three statements are attributed to Charlie Kirk – what is the truth behind these claims?

Empathy, an invented term that causes great harm

The claim

There are posts circulating on social media claiming that Kirk once said he couldn't stand the term empathy and considered it to be an invented New Age word that caused great harm (for example, here, here and here).

The evaluation

The claim is correct. Kirk expressed himself that way.

Statement comes from The Charlie Kirk Show

Some posts include a video alongside the quote, which, according to the overlay, is an episode of The Charlie Kirk Show (for example, here). Others (such as here) also include a broadcast date: October 12, 2022. Using this information, the original three-hour video can be quickly found (here).

In it, Kirk commented on the Democrats' new communications strategy, which he considered different from Bill Clinton's. Back then, it was all about empathy and compassion. Then comes the statement quoted here (from minute 36:40): I actually can't stand the word empathy. I consider empathy a made-up, New Age term that causes great harm. But in politics, it's very effective. I prefer compassion to empathy. That's another topic for another time.

The statement already stirred emotions, as evidenced by a post by Kirk on X (archived here) from the same day. It states:"The same people who lecture you about 'empathy' have no empathy for the soldiers discharged for vaccination, for the children maimed by big-box medicine, or for the lives destroyed by fentanyl flowing across the border. Spare me your fake outrage, your fake science, and your fake moral superiority."

The claim

An alleged CNN screenshot is circulating on social media (for example here) in which Kirk is said to have once said: If someone shoots me in the neck during a speech in Utah in 2025, I'll secretly think that's great.

The evaluation

The claim is false. There is no evidence that Kirk ever made such a statement. According to CNN, there was never such an article.

Screenshot was manipulated, statement fabricated

On the day of the attack, a supposed screenshot of an article from cnn.com from August 2021 surfaced on social media. According to this article, Kirk had spoken out about a possible attack on him in Utah several years ago. Had he, it would be a very significant coincidence. However, an article with that title cannot be found – neither on cnn.com nor in the various online archives. According to a spokesperson for the media outlet, this is also not possible, as reuters.com (archived here) writes: A CNN spokesperson explained in an email that the alleged screenshot was manipulated. CNN has never published an article with that headline.

There is also no evidence that Kirk ever made such a statement: a search for the complete quote and various keywords from it (such as here) was unsuccessful.

The claim

According to various social media posts, Charlie Kirk is said to have called gun deaths a “reasonable compromise” to preserve the Second Amendment (for example, here, here and here).

The evaluation

The claim is true.

Kirk spoke on gun rights at a panel in 2023

Kirk was a staunch advocate of the Second Amendment, the right to keep and bear arms. At an Awaken Church event on April 5, 2023, in Salt Lake City, Utah, he said: We must be very clear: You are not going to reduce the number of gun deaths to zero. That is not going to happen. However, you can reduce them significantly by having more fathers stay at home and by having more armed guards in front of schools. We should have an honest and clear reductionist view of gun violence. But we should not have a utopian view. You will never be able to live in a society where all citizens are armed and there is not a single gun death. That is nonsense.

The numerous social media posts refer to what he said afterward: I think it's worth it. I think it's worth accepting, unfortunately, some gun deaths every year. So that we have the Second Amendment to protect the other God-given rights.

An audio recording of the event can be found here. The statement referenced in recent social media posts begins at minute 41:30.

Conclusion

Following the death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, numerous claims about alleged quotes from him circulated on social media. Some statements were genuinely his, others were not. As always with information on social media, it is imperative to look closely and seek the original sources.

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