Trump shares call for media 'accountability' with 'Charlie Kirk Act' after shooting

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Independent

Saturday 13 September 2025 18:27 EDT


Donald Trump has shared a video calling for the president to reinstate a Cold War-era media “accountability” law in response to the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, with a petition calling for its revival gathering more than 5,000 signatures within 13 hours.

Following the 31-year-old Kirk’s killing at Utah Valley University and the arrest of 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, TikTok user Ellie May called for the president to reintroduce the Smith‑Mundt Act, a U.S. law once intended to prevent domestic dissemination of U.S.-backed foreign media, and to give it a new name: the “Charlie Kirk Act.”

May’s video went viral and was shared on the president’s Truth Social account. In her video, May accused media outlets of “spreading propaganda” and conspiracy theories that spread rapidly across social media platforms.

AI‑generated images and false claims misidentifying the suspect were among the content circulated, some of which gained additional reach via Grok, X’s AI chatbot. It reportedly acknowledged errors only after several false posts had already gone viral.

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/media-censorship-accountability-charlie-kirk-act-b2825988.html