US Adversaries Stoke Kirk Conspiracy Theories, Researchers Warn

Foreign influence campaigns have frequently used US political crises or natural diasters to stoke tensions, researchers say. (Credit: AFP)

Russian, Chinese, and Iranian state media are exploiting conservative activist Charlie Kirk's assassination to advance thousands of false claims aimed at undermining the United States and other adversaries, a research group warned Wednesday.

Official media in the three countries mentioned Kirk -- a close ally of President Donald Trump -- 6,200 times since the activist was shot dead last week during a speaking event on a Utah university campus, the disinformation watchdog NewsGuard reported citing data gathered using a social media analytics tool.