Charlie Kirk’s anti-vax campaign

For months, Charlie Kirk has been on a relentless campaign against the COVID-19 vaccine, spreading fear and misinformation. Turning Point USA, the organization Kirk founded, has likewise been garnering donations from spreading hesitancy and conspiracy theories about the vaccine.

Despite even TPUSA co-founder Bill Montgomery dying of COVID-19 last summer, Kirk has been at the forefront of spreading misinformation related to COVID-19 since the pandemic began last year. He has undermined mask wearing, urged people to disregard public health guidelines, and claimed, “By historical standards, this is not a pandemic.” Kirk’s rhetoric regarding the vaccine, which is widely accepted as overwhelmingly safe and effective, may be the most dangerous.

Though Kirk has claimed that he is not against the vaccine and is “neutral on the topic,” despite his decision not to receive it himself, his Twitter feed, public appearances, and radio show tell a different story.

Kirk’s Twitter feed contains a lot of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, fearmongering speculation, and downright lies. On July 26, Kirk suggested that people were going to have vaccines forcibly injected into their bodies:

During public appearances, Kirk has used his platform to spread anti-vax rhetoric. On July 7, Kirk went on Tucker Carlson’s prime-time Fox News show and compared vaccine requirements to apartheid. He doubled down on this stance the next day on Twitter.

From the July 7, 2021, edition of Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight

CHARLIE KIRK (GUEST): At Turning Point USA we are going to give everything we have to make sure that students are not going to have to live in a medical apartheid because they don't want to get the vaccine.

...

KIRK: It's almost this apartheid-style open-air hostage situation, like oh you can have your freedom back if you get the jab. This is unacceptable, we're going to fight back against it.

TUCKER CARLSON (HOST): That's exactly right.

During a July 13 Freedom Square event, Kirk claimed that he has seen evidence that thousands of people are having adverse effects from the vaccine. He made a similar claim during his June 30 radio show.

From the July 13, 2021, Freedom Square, posted to YouTube

CHARLIE KIRK (SPEAKER): We made our own personal medical decision. I encourage everyone else to do this. And so, let me -- by the way, if you're 75 and [have] comorbidities, I can actually make an argument that vaccine risk might actually be worth it. I can make that argument, because 75, comorbidities, downside potentially [could] be what the FDA and others are saying and COVID might actually mean death and so you say, OK, I'm actually willing to do that trade off. If you're 19 years old, it has an almost immeasurable death rate. Let me say that again, almost immeasurable, according to Alex Berenson who's the expert on this. And then we have higher vaccination rates for universities than at the CDC and the NIH. What does that tell you, right? And then at the VAERS System, V-A-E-R-S, we have over 6,000 deaths reported and I think that's probably low.

...

I come back to like 7,000 emails, right? Comments, messages. And if you have seen what I've seen, you'll care even more. I'm talking about tear-filled letters and emails.

During a TPUSA summit on June 11, Kirk warned that we’re being “intimidate[d]” to get the vaccine and said we shouldn’t trust public health professionals.

From the June 11, 2021, TPUSA Young Women's Leadership Summit, posted to YouTube

CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): I grew up with four words, governor, that the left always would scream at me when I'd go to these campuses - my body, my choice. And now they're saying, get the vaccine, racist. And I'm like, what? And so -- again, everyone comes to their own decision. First, here's the way I -- my calculus. First of all, I'm young. I'll also -- I'll take my chances with hydroxychloroquine, vitamin D, a little bit of walking outside, good diet. And secondly, just a reasonable thing -- these people have lied about everything. Over the last year.

FORMER GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN (GUEST): Yes, that's the thing.

KIRK: Everything.

PALIN: Yes.

KIRK: From the lockdowns, to the actual infectious rate, to the death rate. Dr. [Anthony] Fauci was lying about it early and often. And now we're just supposed to say, you know what? Now we should just trust the pharmaceutical industry -- and they never lie, by the way. They are perfectly ethical, they are the most honest people we have ever dealt with, they never seek profit to try to exploit you or try to medicate you unnecessarily, I love Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna, and so you should too. And --

PALIN: No matter what.

KIRK: And of course we should worship them. And governor, don't you remember the left? They used to challenge these companies.

...

KIRK: And if you even talk about this on social media or radio -- which I talk about it quite often, they come after you completely. For example, you're not allowed to say that 53% of Center for Disease Control employees have got the vaccine and about 47% -- according to Dr. Fauci's own testimony -- have not. And we don't know if they've denied it, but that's a low vaccination rate for the Center for Disease Control. Do they know something that we don't? Does the NIH know something that we don't? Eric Clapton got the vaccine and he was afraid he was never able to play the guitar again because he had such an adverse effect. According to VAERS own website -- again, the media hates when I mention this so I need to be so specific when I say this -- according to their website, 4,000 people have died since getting the vaccine. That's what it says on their website. That's interesting. Nine Yankees players have gotten the virus after they got the vaccine. And the first man who got the vaccine in Britain, 81 years old, his name is literally William Shakespeare, ... they had this whole press event. We're going to give him the vaccine. He, unfortunately, passed away a few weeks ago. So that's interesting. And we should have some form of discussion about it. But governor, they're trying to -- are they trying to intimidate us into this?

Kirk’s podcast and radio show have been the most extensive platform from which he’s engendered vaccine hesitancy and spread misinformation. There, Kirk has urged his audience to take the “red pill” on the COVID-19 vaccine, a reference to a common term among far-right circles meaning to have one’s eyes opened to the truth. In one example, he devoted an entire podcast episode to an interview with notorious anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

On July 21, Kirk speculated that 1.2 million people may have died from the COVID-19 vaccine.

From the July 21, 2021, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on YouTube

CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): So as we've been talking about throughout this entire hour, the new VAERS data according to the CDC website, VAERS is a public portal that you can plug into. The Vaccine Adverse Effect Reporting System shows that there's as many as 12,313 deaths after getting the vaccine. We've also gone into detail about how VAERS and the FDA -- according to this study of the Electronic Support for Public Health -- Vaccine Adverse Effect Reporting System -- shows that it may really might only reflect 1%. So, if VAERS is off by 99%, that would mean 1.2 million people died after getting the vaccine. If VAERS is off by 90%, that means that -- make sure I get my math right here. That's right. If VAERS is only calculating 10%, that means 123,000 people died.

...

More than double the amount of people who have died from COVID in the U.S. I'm not saying that's true. I'm saying that according to how we calculate VAERS, by the independent study that was administered, this could be true. So where are our elected leaders looking into this? Why are our leaders all a sudden peddling the vaccine?

Continuing to peddle the same conspiracy theory regarding VAERS data, Kirk said on June 18 that “about two 9/11s have already died” after getting the vaccine.

From the June 18, 2021, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on YouTube

CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): And by the way, the VAERS database has about 6,000 deaths related to the vaccine. So about two 9/11s have already died -- of people that have died since getting the vaccine. But it could be 10 or 20 times beyond that because some people may not be registering these adverse reactions -- and I'm just saying reportedly have died, I just want to be very clear about this. And now a new story, the CDC is coming out and saying -- this is the CDC -- new evidence shows heart issues in men under 30 who received the Chinese coronavirus vaccine. And yet, we are mandating our children at college -- did you know that Notre Dame has a higher vaccination rate than the Center for Disease Control. Well, maybe the CDC knows something that we don't know.

On July 16, Kirk warned: “If they can make you put a mask on, they'll take your guns. They can make you take a vaccine, they control your children.”

From the July 16, 2021, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on YouTube

CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): Your freedoms are so fragile, everybody. It's time to get disagreeable. They're putting these mask mandates in place across the country -- tell them no. What're they going to do? Arrest you? Probably. Get your friends alongside of you. This is tyranny in its purest form. People want to control your life. And by the way, the adults have decided not to stand up for our country, it's time for us, the younger generation, to start pushing back against this. If they can make you put a mask on, they'll take your guns. They can make you take a vaccine, they control your children.

Adding an additional layer of paranoia, on July 13, Kirk warned: “They want to monitor your text messages about the vaccine. They’re going to monitor what you say to your family members and friends.”

From the July 13, 2021, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on YouTube

CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): The Biden administration is saying in this collusion article they wrote with Politico -- which was totally leaked and it was worked collaboratively -- that they want to monitor your text messages about the vaccine. They're going to monitor what you say to your family members and friends.

During the same July 13 episode, Kirk lied, claiming “We don’t even know if this vaccine is effective against the Delta Variant.”

From the July 13, 2021, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on YouTube

CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): By they way, we don't even know if this vaccine is effective against the delta variant. Go look at Israel and at how their vaccinations are not as effective as they would've thought against the delta variant in Israel.

On June 18, Kirk said “history will vindicate” him for his decision not to get the vaccine. He went on to baselessly predict that some people “are going to have a lifetime of difficulties and health issues because of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine.”

From the June 18, 2021, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on YouTube

CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): Because of massive censorship and Google, Facebook, and Twitter being paid for by Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson, and AstraZeneca they are now saying that you are not even allowed to question the vaccine.

...

Those of us who have decided to ask questions about the vaccine and pushed back against mandatory vaccinations, I'm telling you right now -- and we're really good at predicting this -- history will vindicate all of us. Some people, unfortunately -- and I say this tragically -- are going to have a lifetime of difficulties and health issues because of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine and the spike protein in it.

On June 9, Kirk speculated whether the COVID-19 vaccines were made from “aborted fetal tissue.”

From the June 9, 2021, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on YouTube

CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): We still do not know all the side effects that could, let me reemphasize, that could -- let me reemphasize -- that could have issues with fertility that could have issues with long-term viability. Now, there's some debate whether or not there are fetal cells in this particular vaccine. I don't know if that's true or not. But some vaccines do have aborted fetal tissue.

Like many others in the anti-vax world, Kirk has pushed conspiracy theories about billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates. On June 3, he said Gates is “micro-engineering the rest of the world to have mass vaccinations.” During the same episode, Kirk said: “Why is Bill Gates so fascinated with vaccinating the entire world? Is there something behind Bill Gates’ newly announced divorce?”

From the June 3, 2021, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on YouTube

CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): Why did Dr. Anthony Fauci have continual and repeated correspondence with Bill Gates?

What is going on with Bill Gates? Why is Bill Gates so fascinated with vaccinating the entire world? Is there something behind Bill Gates' newly announced divorce? What are the motives behind Bill Gates? Why is Bill Gates acting as if he's the savior of the entire world behind his mass inoculation strategy? Now, there might be nothing there, but I do know this: I know that Dr. Fauci and Bill Gates doing anything together will probably make humanity suffer. Whatever that is, I don't like it, because you have the mixture of the two types of people I detest the most. You have a bureaucrat who failed upward and was willing to lie, steal, and cheat to get to the top level of the fourth branch of government, and you have a tech billionaire worth $150 billion that thinks if you just give me more power, the world's problems will be solved.

You combine those two people, dual power activate, watch out everybody. That is something that should be talked about and investigated.

On May 26, Kirk said there is a “pathological fascination with mass inoculation” and warned that there are still many unanswered questions about the vaccine. Likewise, in a June 14 episode, Kirk called the effort to vaccinate Americans “deeply creepy.”

From the May 26, 2021, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on YouTube

CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): There's this pathological fascination with mass inoculation, with mandating people to get the vaccine. So, maybe the vaccine is the right decision for you. Maybe you decided to get the vaccine. Maybe you did your research and you understand that. But then we're not allowed to have any conversation around that at all. This is a no-go zone. And what I have been, actually, really surprised at is how many conservative pundits and people who have broadcasts and people that are, kind of, trusted with a large audience --Tucker Carlson being the exception to this -- that have totally ignored the story.

Now, anytime I ask questions about vaccines, people get super emotional about them in the medical community -- like how dare you question them? There's no other way to handle issues than mass inoculation. I say, I'm just asking a question, such as, are there any downsides? Why is it that there is a vaccine adverse event reporting system set up by our own government? How much has been distributed from that vaccine adverse reporting system? What are the ingredients of the vaccine? If the ingredients in the vaccine are rooted in mRNA, which is a ribonucleic acid, which is the active ingredient in the vaccine, then what are the mRNA molecules that contain genetic material that provide the instructions to the body on how to make a viral protein that will then trigger the immune response for our bodies?

If all that happens, what are the potential adverse reactions to that?

On June 18, Kirk called on all other conservatives to join in spreading vaccine hesitancy when he said: “I think it is irresponsible for any conservative to go on television or radio and not talk about all of these adverse reactions when it comes to the vaccine.”

From the June 18, 2021, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on YouTube

CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): Now, let me just say something. I've known Chris Christie. I think he's a very nice person. And if he was here, we'd have a good discussion. He was on Fox News saying that the vaccine is perfect and everyone should get the vaccine. He did say he doesn't think it should be mandatory, I should give him credit for that. But I think it is irresponsible for any conservative to go on television or radio and not talk about all of these adverse reactions when it comes to the vaccine. You are not acting responsibly to your viewers. And any conservative that posts these vaccine selfies and all this, you have to stop it. Your audience and millions of Americans right now are not clear with what is happening. And there is a massive propaganda campaign.

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed over 600,000 Americans. The vaccines are widely accepted as being this nation’s best chance to end this pandemic.

Kirk made almost all of the above comments on either Twitter or YouTube, both of which have policies against spreading COVID-19 misinformation.

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