Washington (AP) – Russia moved to amplify online conspiracy theory Charlie Kirk’s murder Just hours after that happened, social media sows social media with horrifying claims that America is in a civil war.
Chinese and pro-Iranian groups have also spread disinformation about the shooting, claiming that while people who are loyal to Iran’s interests support anti-Semitic conspiracy theory, Bott has been linked to Kirk’s death.
The American enemy has been using it for a long time Fake social media accounts,online Bot and disinformation to portray the United States as a dangerous country plagued by extremism and gun violence. Kirk’s murder provided another opportunity for those eager to shape it overseas Public understanding While inflamed Political polarization.
“Charlie Kirk’s death and the coming civil war,” tweeted Russian ultranalist Alexander Dugin. Putin’s brainIt refers to the Russian president. The pro-Russian bots denounced Democrats and predicted more violence. Russian state media has published an English article with headlines claiming a conspiracy organized by shadow forces. “Was Charlie Kirk’s murderer a professional?”
Foreign disinformation constitutes a small part of the whole Online discussion on Kirk’s deathhowever, it could undermine efforts to heal political divisions and promote further violence.
“We’ve seen several Russian campaigns trying to exploit,” Kirk’s murder said Joseph Bodner, senior research manager at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. In many cases, campaigns don’t add new claims, but they do recycle them It came from an American user. “They are picking up national actors and amplifying them.”
Enemies adjust disinformation
In both cases, people spreading the disinformation adjusted it for their own purposes. Chinese propaganda focuses on the violent nature of Kirk’s death, portraying the United States as a nation of violent gun owners and political extremists.
The Russian voice tried to link Kirk’s death to support Ukraine. Ukrainian government’s conspiracy theory Kirk was killed because of his criticism of the aid.
The Iranian group took another tack, claiming that Israel was behind Kirk’s death and that the suspect was set up in the fall. This theory of conspiracy was caught up in a white supremacist group in the US and how Corrosive claims can easily spread online Despite the ocean and linguistic and cultural barriers.
Following big news events, false and misleading claims can quickly spread. Artificial Intelligence Programs that can be created Realistic video and audio Just like AI chatbots that provide misinformation on a daily basis, it can make finding the truth even more difficult.
It happened again Following Kirk’s murder, misinformation about the shooting and suspect quickly spread online.
Groups that have been paying attention to in recent years Spreading confusion and distrust It has been seized Hurricane, warJanuary 6, 2021, Attack on the US Capitol, Covid-19 Pandemic others disasteras well as President Donald Trump attempted assassination.
Although details vary, all conspiracy theories promoted by foreign enemies suggest that government, media, law enforcement, healthcare – have failed, no longer trustworthy, and more violence is likely.
Social media companies call for crackdowns
Regardless of the source of the information, Social media companies should do more Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Digital Hate Centre, which tracks online disinformation, to stop both foreign disinformation and domestic calls for violence, said.
According to a survey by the Centre, X alone saw only 43 million posts calling for retaliation violence after Kirk’s death, but posts from foreign sources cannot be said.
Platforms like X “fail devastatedly to limit the scope of posts celebrating murder and mayhem,” Ahmed said.
Russia, China and Iran are all rejecting targets of uninformed Americans. Chinese officials specifically pushed back the allegations that Chinese social media bots were being used to amplify false claims about Kirk’s shooting.
“China condemns all illegal and violent behaviour, which firmly opposes US politicians who accused China of “instilling disinfection and encouraging violence,” a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, posting on X.
For foreign enemies seeking to sow discrepancies in the US, disinformation is extremely effective and inexpensive. For authorities seeking to inform the public, false claims about Kirk’s death are potentially dangerous efforts to hijack American discourse.
“There’s an incredible amount of disinformation we’re tracking,” says Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican. I said At a recent press conference on Kirk’s murder. “What we see is that our enemies are seeking violence. We have bots from Russia and China all over the world trying to instill disinformation and encourage violence.”
Cox urged people to ignore false claims that appear to be designed to elicit fear, suggesting that Americans would log off from social media and spend time with their families instead.
