I’ve already written about how Team Trump and right-wing folks in general have been furiously working to paint a picture of alleged Charlie Kirk killer Tyler Robinson as some left wing liberal firebrand. I said the machinery cranked up as soon as he was identified. I’ve also been pointing out facts that counter this narrative. A little checking by those with plenty of resources might have saved some major news outlets from the embarrassment.
You’d think journalists from major outlets would be more careful. The KNOW how conservatives misdirect and even outright lie as easily as they breathe. Regardless of where they are on the political spectrum every person with a working brain knew, KNEW that before Kirk’s body was cold, hell even before his actual death was announced that conservatives would claim it was some radicalized liberal who’d done the shooting. Anyone from Trump world who might have suggested a bit of caution and to wait for some actual verified facts got a paraphrased line from Blazing Saddles: ‘FACTS? We don’t need no stinking facts!’
News outlets know this. Yet they blazed ahead reporting stuff, sometimes from anonymous sources they now are retracting. You know the old saying about a lie traveling around the world before the truth gets its boots on. That’s always been possible because of irresponsible journalism that doesn’t properly vet sources. In the age of social media it’s an even bigger problem which is why it’s so important for credible major news outlets to make the effort to get things correct. The first time!
Alas, as this article from The Daily Beast tells us major news outlets jumped the gun. They didn’t vet their sources and/or gain additional sources and ran with exactly the kind of made-up b.s. that some intern in the White House communications office would put out. Swallowed it hook, line and sinker. Now comes the retraction part, but as always once the false version is out there IT takes hold in people’s minds. That’s why this is so unforgiveable, at least to me.
The linked article cites a story in The Guardian that included quotes from a supposed long time acquaintance of Robinson. This supposed close pal is quoted as saying Robinson was ‘really leftist’ and ‘the only member of his family who was that way’ etc. Basically music to the MAGA beast to soothe it. To ‘reassure” it that Robinson was some bad-seed who rejected all the ‘good conservative raising’ he’d been provided. Rather than admit one of their own might be crazy and kill one of their leaders he didn’t think was crazy enough, in their minds Robinson HAD to be a misfit.
The thing is, it was apparent the guy wasn’t some outcast black sheep with his family. On the contrary. It’s a sad commentary on journalism that they’re so eager to get a ‘scoop’ that some goober probably recruited to call up and spoon feed some reporter bullshit gets taken as gospel. But The Guardian got played and had to issue a retraction:
The passages have since been removed. An editor’s note at the top of the article reads, “Editor’s note: This article was updated on 12 September 2025 to remove quotes after the verified source who attended high school with Tyler Robinson said after publication that they could not accurately remember details of their relationship.“
You can go to the linked article to see (highlighted in yellow) what The Guardian retracted. What sticks in my craw though is that AFTER the bullshit was published someone did some checking. Or the author of the original article had a colleague present information that prompted an ‘Uh Oh, I jumped the gun on this one.’ Or an editor decided to develop more sourcing and realized The Guardian got suckered.
The linked article goes on to point out The Guardian isn’t the only major outlet to be walking back things they’d printed. The freaking Wall Street Journal had to do some backing and filling of its own:
This was not the only high-profile retraction made by a media outlet regarding the case. On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal published comments from cops working the Kirk case that stated etchings on the bullet casings recovered from the suspected murder weapon promoted “transgender and antifascist ideology.”
The Journal later amended the piece, saying in an editor’s note, ”Justice Department officials later urged caution about the bulletin… saying it may not accurately reflect the messages on the ammunition.”
Again I say it’s a sad commentary on the state of journalism that major outlets get so easily played. They know and have known all along that Trump and his supporters LIE like hell. However they are so cowed, and so eager to curry favor (or at least avoid Trump targeting them) they leap to accept what they should know ought to be checked out. It’s apparent that Robinson, who it should be noted was living at his parent’s home comes from a Trump loving MAGA environment. You might find this hard to believe but I suspect they were shocked at what happened.
The point however is that Robinson wasn’t some recluse. He hung out at gun ranges and loved going to gun shows. Even was active on social media albeit seemingly more interested in another young right-wing influencer than Kirk:
Some have argued there is more evidence to suggest Robinson held extreme right-wing beliefs. Though Robinson is not a registered Republican or Democrat, he comes from a family of Republicans. Some suspect Robinson’s fluency with online culture, evident in the memes he allegedly scrawled on the bullet casings, suggest he was a “Groyper,” or a radicalized follower of white nationalist and antisemitic influencer Nick Fuentes, who criticized and trolled Kirk from the right.
As the tag line of The X-Files says ‘The Truth Is Out There’ but it seems journalists from major outlets can’t be bothered to do even some minor checking for what it might actually be. However as I’ve written elsewhere IF there were writings and posts of Robinson taking part in “WOKE” ideology or at left-wing events Kash Patel would have shown at least a few of them at that first news conference. That he didn’t should have been a HUGE warning flag to any journalist who got a tip from some “I know/knew Tyler Robinson and he was a hard-core leftie.” Will journalists ever learn?
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Do you ever know what the hell you’re talking about Denis? Will you retract any of the false statements from this very piece?
I doubt it
Check my sourcing, and tell me what false statements I made. My premise is solid. Even before Kirk’s death was announced conservatives like you were pushing as ‘fact’ he’d been shot by some left-wing radical. Then after the death was announced from Trump on down the conservative mantra was that CRAZY LIBERALS ARE VIOLENT AND ONE OF THEM KILLED KIRK!!!!!! Tell me I’m wrong. How many messages and/or posts did YOU send out along those lines?
Then it started getting noted by some that Kirk had grown up in a staunchly conservative family with Trump supporting parents. And yes, liked going to shoot at ranges (ah, bastions of liberals eh?) and going to gun shows. And was keen on Kirk antagonist Nick Fuentes who didn’t think Kirk was extreme enough. (Hold onto that thought – it could turn out to be why Robinson committed murder) And, as I’ve said IF there was social media stuff that was actually Robinson (not the bullshit claiming other people at liberal functions were him – the actual people who turned out NOT to be him were identified) Kash Patel would have provided some examples at that press conference.
His team seems not to have found (and you goddamned well know a TEAM looked, and hard) even something that could be ‘spun’ to paint Robinson as liberal. Instead they found someone who looked awfully MAGA. With conservative upbringing who lived at home with his Trump supporting parents. Basically they found the guy looked like one of their own.
Outlets have spoken to some people and accepted narratives that conservatives have been pushing as gospel. Then they learned they’d gotten out over their skis and are issuing retractions. So again, and be specific what was I wrong about. I can back up everything written. YOU can’t back up your assertation (emphasis on the ass part) my article was full of lies because it isn’t.
You claim outlets were wrong about inscriptions on the ammo, there was inscriptions on the ammo. Maybe not the word transgender which may have been reported very early but there was inscriptions to indicate a sharp left turn by this extremist. You said he lives at his parents home. He lives with his boyfriend. You assert that he’s some right wing gun nut, yet there’s no evidence of him participating in gun shows or pro 2nd amendment activities since he was a younger person when he WAS living under his parents roof. Finally, and hopefully for the last time, your alt right theory is ridiculous! This sorry sack may have been raised in a conservative household but clearly was radicalized by leftist rhetoric.
Hmm. Turns out you can’t back up any of your ASSertions and I’ve clearly backed up mine.