As conservatives in the U.S. and around the world remember Charlie Kirk, American leftists are celebrating his gruesome assassination. Individuals associated with Antifa and other left-wing organizations have been working overtime to spew hate online and on college campuses, going as far as threatening to assassinate other conservative figures.
But there is another malign actor that has exploited this assassination for its own benefit, one that funds American far-left activists and groups: the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Utah Governor Spencer Cox mentioned during a press conference that some of the U.S.’s top foreign enemies were spreading disinformation about Charlie’s murder to encourage violence. Beijing, of course, denied this.
However, it is not only bots that have been posting content glorifying this horrific event as well as spreading false information. Wumaos—or internet commentators who are paid by the CCP to promote Beijing’s propaganda—and Chinese nationals living abroad have played their part too.
China has engaged in cognitive warfare for some time now, a component of the CCP’s unrestricted warfare strategy. The objective of China’s cognitive warfare is to shape public opinion and behavior in Beijing's favor, turning the citizens of an adversary against their own government and one another in order to distract and weaken society by sowing internal strife. Cognitive warfare, in other words, aims to manipulate individuals using disinformation campaigns and psychological/influence operations.
Examples include CCP-run accounts propagating misleading information early on in the investigation, in an effort to cause confusion and anger, even going as far as to disparage FBI Director Kash Patel. Zhao DaShuai is a member of the People's Armed Police Propaganda Bureau.
It's been over 12 hours, still no surveillance footage of the suspected shooter released.
— Zhao DaShuai 东北进修🇨🇳 (@zhao_dashuai) September 11, 2025
What are they hiding?
I simply do not believe anyone can evade all the cameras on a university campus. Especially considering the shooter's spot was 50 meters away from the Campus Police… pic.twitter.com/dNQ7gxmxCo
The incompetence of an Indian ran FBI.
— Zhao DaShuai 东北进修🇨🇳 (@zhao_dashuai) September 11, 2025
Jumping the gun by claiming the shooter has been arrested, only to retract the statement moments later. pic.twitter.com/QniypeiB6l
Some posts promoted anti-Israel conspiracy theories instead of recognizing this murder for what it was.
Charlie Kirk was starting to question the Israeli narrative on the October 7th attack.
— Zhao DaShuai 东北进修🇨🇳 (@zhao_dashuai) September 11, 2025
Was there a stand down order by the Israel military? pic.twitter.com/RASYqxGsRD
Known wumaos used this tragedy to boast about the supposed superiority of Chinese society while portraying America as inferior and violent, and condemning "right-wing extremists"—typical Marxist talking points.
These recent incidents have made people realize just how important safety truly is.
— Dominic Lee 李梓敬 (@dominictsz) September 11, 2025
Regardless of one's views on China's political system, one thing is undeniable: cities in China are remarkably safe.
Without safety, any discussion of human rights is meaningless.
RIP. pic.twitter.com/8mw9o1gpsz
The USA has been a violent country since its founding. We're just witnessing the consequences of it everyday.
— Carl Zha (@CarlZha) September 11, 2025
This is by far the stupidest post I’ve ever seen and a classic example of a right wing extremist blaming anything and everything on China 🤦🏻♂️
— Cyrus Janssen (@thecyrusjanssen) September 10, 2025
Seriously, why do people try to bring China into the conversation when an assassination in America literally has NOTHING to do with China… https://t.co/aul7mvGinS
On Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, Hu Xijin—the former editor-in-chief for the state-run Global Times—wrote that America has a long history of political assassinations, also asserting that economic insecurity, racial tensions, and inflammatory rhetoric from both sides have led to hostility in American society.
In another post, Hu labeled Kirk a “radical conservative youth leader,” referred to the perpetrator as both “ruthless” and “innocent,” and mockingly invoked America’s “gun-free environment,” pointing out that Charlie was a “staunch defender of gun rights in the United States.”
A post from Hu Xijin's (former EIC of the state-run China Daily) Weibo acct re the assassination.
— Erik Durneika 🇺🇸 (@e_durneika) September 17, 2025
He refers to Charlie as a "radical conservative youth leader," to the perpetrator as "ruthless" yet "innocent," and sarcastically refers to America's "gun-free environment." pic.twitter.com/z4yYYgKd1i
Individuals on X claiming to be asylees in the U.S. and elsewhere also celebrated Charlie’s death, casting this horrific event as payback for his views, while other prominent Chinese “dissidents” argued that celebrating Charlie’s brutal murder is considered free speech and that revoking green cards as a response would signal the administration’s intolerance toward opposing views.
Examples include posts by Fang Shimin, also known as Fang Zhouzi, a self-proclaimed dissident popular science writer residing in the U.S. who had previously attacked Christianity and Falun Gong; Deng Haiyan, also known as Alex, a former CCP policeman using asylum to stay in the U.S.; and Wang Zhi’an, a former China Central Television reporter who was banned in 2024 from entering Taiwan for five years for violating the terms of his tourist visa by appearing on a TV show during Taiwan’s presidential election (sounds a lot like election interference).
To the U.S. Secretary of State and other responsible authorities：
— Helen MAGA (@HelenXie) September 16, 2025
I hereby report Mr. Fang Zhouzi (Fang Shimin), a Chinese national residing in the United States, for making extreme and malicious comments on social media targeting the late Charlie Kirk.
Exhibit 1 (Tweet… pic.twitter.com/Tg0ZMVo5HA
I’m not a fan of Charlie Kirk, but I’m shocked and disturbed by the act of violence against him simply because of differences in worldview. The fact that a former CCP cop "Haiyan Deng" living in Los Angeles called him a ‘Nazi scumbag’ after his death shows exactly why he was… pic.twitter.com/sPcVOKIWzI
— Terence Shen 公子沈 (@Terenceshen) September 14, 2025
This person, former CCTV reporter Wang Zhi’an, says he believes Deng Haiyan’s comments on Charlie Kirk’s assassination fall under “normal discussion” and that Deng should not be reported.
— Inconvenient Truths by Jennifer Zeng (@jenniferzeng97) September 13, 2025
Like Deng, Wang consistently sides with the CCP on major issues. He has been banned by the… https://t.co/QyP3igP5kF pic.twitter.com/tzPEt6uMzL
他一直反对禁枪控枪，并反对对枪击案受害者予以足够的同情。 https://t.co/j7pJiUozLy
— 王局志安 (@wangzhian8848) September 11, 2025
It is important to understand that these individuals, while claiming to be anti-CCP dissidents, have been accused by countless China watchers, activists, and users of being undercover CCP agents. These individuals have taken positions on issues that agree with the CCP’s official narrative while disagreeing with Beijing on trivial matters.
They are aiding the CCP’s psychological operations by luring in users who are critical of the CCP and feeding them anti-U.S. propaganda.
For instance, Fang Shimin went as far as to post public praise for the Chinese embassy back in 2020 after receiving a new People’s Republic of China passport.
Frenzied Charlie Kirk critic Fang Shimin (方是民), also known as Fang Zhouzi (方舟子), appears to have maintained very good relations with the Chinese Communist Party.
— Dr. Lawrence Sellin (@LawrenceSellin) September 16, 2025
Special treatment?https://t.co/VTJRkSpGMA pic.twitter.com/ZerP9QGwEp
Asylum fraud is an “open secret” among Chinese migrants in the U.S., with Chinese nationals being one of the top groups to apply for such status. So-called “asylum mills” have been operating in the U.S. for decades, with networks of lawyers coaching applicants on how to fabricate stories of persecution and taking care of paperwork. Other CCP agents entered the U.S. following the Tiananmen Square Massacre under the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992.
TikTok has also been censoring conservative voices and conversations around Charlie’s assassination while simultaneously promoting extremely violent and divisive content, as noted by Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action.
Tik Tok removed my video where students laugh after I announced Charlie Kirk had been shot.
— Kristan Hawkins (@KristanHawkins) September 13, 2025
Meanwhile, videos celebrating his death stay up on the app. Pure evil. pic.twitter.com/5Uikx5r27U
TikTok functions not only as a Chinese spy app that harvests users’ data but also as a vehicle for pro-CCP, anti-American, far-left propaganda and dangerous trends.
This comes as President Trump recently signed a fourth extension—three too many—for TikTok, after the administration announced that it secured a deal with China to keep TikTok operational. President Trump is set to speak with Xi on Friday to finalize the deal.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 15, 2025
Relatively little is known about the deal. The Trump administration says that ownership will shift to the U.S. However, a statement by the Chinese government—which holds zero credibility—and some reports claim that the new owner will acquire ByteDance's algorithm.
In order for the transaction to comply with federal law and for the app to no longer pose a major national security threat, TikTok and ByteDance—along with other Chinese entities—will have to completely sever ties, ensuring that the Chinese algorithm is scrapped and that no data sharing with the CCP occurs, among other things.
Speaking more broadly, as the CCP’s psychological operations related to Charlie’s assassination show, Beijing is ready to exploit any national tragedy in order to pit Americans against each other and their government—and to incite more politically motivated violence, especially against American patriots. This is part of the war that China is waging on America without firing a shot—in addition to the opioid crisis, intellectual property theft, and biological/agricultural warfare, to name a few tactics.
As cliché as it may sound, this should serve as a wake-up call. The U.S. government and social media platforms must treat this threat with the urgency that it deserves, before it gets any worse and the chance to act is lost.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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