Mainstream media surrenders to conservative influencers

Almost exactly one year before he was fatally shot, Charlie Kirk starred in a video on the YouTube channel Jubilee that has since been viewed over 34 million times. Like other Jubilee videos, it was a cheaply gamified imitation of intellectual debate. 25 “woke college kids” sat in a circle around Kirk and pushed and shoved their way into the center to help deliver viral soundbites and memeable moments.

This was Kirk’s bread and butter. His own YouTube videos with titles like “Brainwashed College Student Gets His Eyes Opened to the Left’s Deception” and “Woman Almost Dies After Learning What Accountability Is” have over a billion views combined. The Charlie Kirk Show was among the most popular podcasts of the past five years, and it ranked second for false, misleading, and unsubstantiated claims, according to one 2023 study by the Brookings Institution.

Kirk was one of many conservative influencers known for peddling disinformation, stoking harassment against minorities, and creating viral clickbait. He became one of Donald Trump’s biggest supporters in new media, speaking directly to the young generation he, at age 31, was a part of. It’s not a surprise that Trump’s administration would lend Kirk as much institutional legitimacy as it could in death, demanding the nation’s flags be lowered to half mast and posthumously awarding a Medal of Freedom. What’s more alarming is how many other mainstream institutions are going along with this charade. Since when does a podcaster who never even ran for office deserve this level of pomp and circumstance? We don’t do this for beloved celebrities or even political assassinations.

When I covered influencers at mainstream news outlets, I became well-acquainted with the ever-shifting standards around reporting on them and—perhaps more importantly—talking about them on social media. But I didn’t predict it would get this Orwellian, this quickly. 

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