- Following the September 10, 2025 killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, foreign actors from Russia, China, and pro-Iranian networks swiftly amplified disinformation on social media, framing the event as evidence of U.S. civil war and societal collapse, to exacerbate domestic divisions and undermine confidence in American institutions.
- Russian ultranationalist Alexander Dugin (“Putin’s brain”) tweeted that Kirk’s death heralded civil war, while pro-Russian bots and state media blamed Democrats or conspiratorial forces. Chinese operations highlighted U.S. gun violence and extremism, and pro-Iranian groups pushed antisemitic theories implicating Israel, which echoed in U.S. white supremacist circles.
- Adversaries used fake accounts, bots, and recycled U.S. domestic conspiracies—Russia tying it to Ukraine aid backlash, China emphasizing polarization, and Iran alleging foreign setups—without generating original content, aiming to incite extremism and erode trust while reaching millions of views on platforms like X.
- The campaigns, though marginal in volume, risk fueling real-world violence and hindering national unity. The U.S. State Department has dismantled key counter-disinformation units. Read More
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