Whenever political violence erupts, the left is quick to weaponize misinformation to push the narrative they want. It may seem surprising that such tactics still work, but they do. And if we don’t expose them, they’ll keep succeeding. Case in point: a new poll reveals just how effective the mainstream media’s spin has been in burying the truth about Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Despite clear evidence that his accused killer was a left-wing radical, most Americans remain unaware of that fact, and that’s by design.
In September, Turning Point USA founder and CEO Charlie Kirk was shot at a TPUSA event in Utah. The media rushed to portray his killer, Tyler Robinson, as a MAGA supporter. The effort to mischaracterize him was so aggressive that doctored images of Robinson in MAGA gear spread widely on social media. From the start, the evidence showed that left-wing ideology radicalized him. Yet the press acts as if his motives aren’t clear, or worse, tries to pin the blame on the right.
But there’s no doubt that Robinson was a leftist. Law enforcement documents revealed Robinson had written that he’d “had enough of [Kirk’s] hatred,” demonstrating that his grievance was ideological. His mother told police he’d moved “more to the left, becoming more pro-gay and trans rights-oriented” in the year leading up to the assassination. At the crime scene, investigators recovered bullet casings inscribed with left-wing slogans like “Hey, fascist, catch” and “Bella Ciao”—the latter a song embraced by Antifa-style activists.
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Then there’s ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who went even further off the rails. Kimmel infamously and falsely described Robinson as a “right-wing MAGA type,” deliberately perpetuating the false narrative.
And it worked. A national poll of 1,000 likely voters conducted by McLaughlin & Associates for the Media Research Center reveals just how successful this misinformation campaign has been. Only 24% of respondents correctly identified Robinson as left-wing. About the same number wrongly believed he was a conservative.
The pattern of weaponizing misinformation persists. Consider recent media reports on Brian Cole Jr., the suspect in the J6 pipe bombing case. After over four years, authorities finally arrested him on Thursday. Anonymous sources provided the press with a story claiming that Cole confessed to being a Trump supporter who “believed conspiracy theories about the 2020 election,” and many outlets repeated this narrative.
A big problem with this is that the Daily Wire had previously reported Cole worked for his father’s bail bonds company, which specialized in freeing illegal immigrants from ICE facilities. This company actually sued the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security.
In fairness, Cole’s exact political leanings remain unclear, but that didn’t stop the media from jumping to conclusions that fit their preferred storyline. Left-wing influencers pounced on the claims, eager to amplify them to the point where even if they’re debunked, it won’t matter.
Here’s why this matters beyond any one case. The left has spent years pushing the narrative that political violence comes from the right, yet reality keeps breaking through. In the past year or so alone, we’ve had the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Kirk’s murder, Antifa riots, and anti-ICE attacks. These episodes form a pattern of left-wing violence for anyone paying attention, but the public misses it because major outlets bury the story. The media’s gaslighting about the ideology of violent actors serves a purpose. It protects their narrative and shields their political allies, and they intend for voters to believe it.
