A social media post that has gone viral claims that Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson pledged to support the family of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated Wednesday on a Utah college campus.
The post, a side-by-side image of Jefferson and Kirk’s family, reads that after Kirk was shot in Utah, Jefferson “immediately stepped in, pledging to pay all living and educational expenses for Kirk’s two children.”
The post goes on to say that the gesture would ease the burden on Kirk’s grieving family and that his action was met with admiration on social media.
The post appears to be misinformation with false claims, which the Vikings confirmed Thursday. Jefferson has not issued a statement or shared anything on social media related to Kirk’s killing. There is no clear connection between the two.
X took down the most widely shared posts Thursday morning. Users who asked the platform’s artificial intelligence-fueled bot Grok about their authenticity received replies that the claims were unfounded.
Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was killed while speaking about politics and mass shootings in front of a large crowd outdoors at Utah Valley University.
The assassination brought further attention to the escalating threat of political violence in the United States. Politicians on both sides of the aisle condemned the violence.
