When Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was shot, Wikipedia editors quickly elevated criticism into the lead section of his page.
Confirmation of the attack on Kirk’s life didn’t stop Wikipedia from making sure site visitors who only read his biography came away with a negative impression. Wikipedia transformed a sentence at the bottom of the lead section of a Sept. 4 version of Kirk’s page from simply listing his policy positions to making sure that curious readers reacting to his fatal shooting know that he supported “COVID-19 misinformation.”
“This is nothing short of disgusting. It’s been said that ‘You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,’ and Wikipedia editors appear to have taken Obama propagandist Rahm Emanuel’s words to heart,” said MRC Free Speech America Director Michael Morris. “While adding one word to the top of a biography section may seem like small potatoes, it means so much more when the word used has been the left’s calling card for outing conservatives and free thinkers as akin to conspiracy theorists for the better part of the last half-decade.”
Notably, following news of the attack on Kirk, editors put the added smear immediately before the Breaking News in the Sept. 10 at 3:36 p.m. EST version of the page: “Kirk has publicly promoted conservative and Trump-aligned causes and COVID-19 misinformation, critical race theory, and the scientific consensus on climate change. On September 10, 2025, he was shot in the neck during a rally at Utah Valley University.”
But even before this outrageous change, Wikipedia heavily demonized Kirk. Prior to the events at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, the MRC Free Speech America Board of Advisor’s Wikipedia page featured a massive 15-paragraph section with the subheader“Promotion of falsehoods and conspiracy theories.” Wikipedia also described Kirk as a “Christian Nationalist,” and provided an outrageous information box to show readers that he supposedly belonged on a list with “white supremacist” Nick Fuentes. This heinous example of guilt by association remained on the page even after Kirk was shot.
Wikipedia claimed that “Kirk promotes the antisemitic Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory,” which Wikipedia writes in a separate page as referring to “a far-right antisemitic conspiracy theory that misrepresents Western Marxism (especially the Frankfurt School) as being responsible for modern progressive movements, identity politics, and political correctness.” Kirk’s TPUSA, however, has simply discussed how the Marxists of the Frankfurt School have influenced current radicals. Wikipedia laid the groundwork to demonize Frankfurt School critics, by deleting the original “Cultural Marxism” page and ultimately replacing it with a “Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory” page. The so-called online encyclopedia also implied Kirk held anti-Semitic views by saying that an Elon Musk remark he defended was anti-Semitic and then noting Kirk’s defense of the X-owner.
Wikipedia editors also included information in its “Racial issues and opinions on Martin Luther King Jr.” section, filled with out-of-context quotes on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. For example, the editors pointed to a quote from Kirk about his apparent uneasiness with “Black or African American airline pilots,” while entirely failing to explain the context of the underlying issue of airlines hiring pilots based on their race rather than their merit.
Wikipedia’s heinous policies also contribute to the flagrant leftist bias of Kirk’s Wikipedia page. Wikipedia created list in which it props up leftist and legacy media sources and effectively blacklists every single source rated “lean right” or “right” by AllSides. This all but guarantees that Wikipedia’s coverage of Kirk would be at least as negative as leftist and legacy media coverage.
Image above credited to Gage Skidmore and The Star News Network.
