The high-profile nature of Charlie Kirk’s shooting on September 10 has created a lot of fodder for speculation online.
With videos of the shooting circulating from virtually every angle, including suspected footage of the shooter, anyone with a social media account was able to weigh in.
Once Tyler Robinson was named as the suspect of the shooting, even more speculation has cropped up.
This is only exacerbated by the ease with which AI is integrated into many social media platforms. X’s in-app chatbot Grok has shared misinformation and conflicting answers around questions related to the shooting.
AI-generated images of the shooting have led to the misidentification of apparent suspects.
To help cut through the misinformation, we’ve rounded up some of the biggest inaccuracies surrounding the shooting and Tyler Robinson right now and set them to rights.
Crime scene photos led to misidentification
Truth: The lead suspect in Kirk’s shooting is Tyler Robinson.
However, some misleading footage and AI-driven theories named both Michael Mallinson or George Zinn as suspects.
While Zinn has been confirmed by the Utah police as a former suspect who was taken in for questioning, he has now been released and charged with obstruction.
Mallinson is a 77-year-old Toronto resident who told the CBC that he had never heard of Kirk before. It’s believed that, because he bears a physical resemblance to Zinn, people identified him as a potential suspect, despite having no connection to the shooting.
Registered Republican
Theories online posit that Robinson was a registered Republican party member, but Utah records seen by AP News show that, while he was registered to vote, he was not registered to any single party.
His voter status is inactive and he did not vote in two regular general elections.
A member of the Democratic Socialists of America
Another political affiliation attributed to Robinson is that he is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, the largest socialist group in the country.
However, Priscilla Yeverino, spokesperson for the group, told AP News that “we have no members in DSA named Tyler Robinson anywhere in the country.”
It’s believed that a photo of a person with a physical resemblance to Robinson wearing a Salt Lake City DSA shirt with the slogan “bee the change” has been taken as evidence of the claim.
Robinson’s father turned him in
Tyler Robinson's own father turned him in.
— Kangmin Lee | 이강민 (@kangminjlee) September 12, 2025
He did the right thing, but imagine how gutting it must be to know that your son committed such an inconceivable evil and you had to turn him in. pic.twitter.com/qbYnSGJNt3
Another claim made online is that Robinson’s own father turned him in. While the 22-year-old did confess to his father when challenged on the fact that the shooter looked like him, the Utah parent did not turn his son in.
Instead, a law enforcement official working on the investigation told CNN that Robinson’s father encouraged him to turn himself in, eventually convincing him to speak to a local youth pastor.
This pastor works with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the US Marshal’s Service, and it was a family friend who eventually contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. That tip was then passed on to the authorities in Utah County and the FBI.
Robinson’s trans partner celebrated Kirk’s death
The transgender that was friends with Tyler Robinson's transgender boyfriend posted “WE F*CKING DID IT” right after what happened to Charlie Kirk. pic.twitter.com/CwdH6yFIc8
— aka (@akafaceUS) September 13, 2025
Robinson’s roommate has been confirmed by Utah’s Republican governor Spencer James Cox to be both romantically involved with the suspected shooter and to be transitioning.
However, there are rumours online with screenshots of a social media account celebrating Kirk’s death, although there is no evidence that those posts are real or that the account is connected to the roommate.
In fact, Cox told NBC News that the roommate had been "incredibly cooperative" throughout the investigation and had "no idea that this [the shooting] was happening".
