SF outlet publishes college kids' group chats after Charlie Kirk death
by SONYA GUGLIARA, US REPORTER · Mail OnlineA liberal San Francisco news outlet is being ripped to shreds for its 'distasteful' move to share college students' text message reactions to Charlie Kirk's assassination.
The San Francisco Standard, self-described as 'the Bay Area’s fastest growing source for news and information,' has come under fire for the bold story, published on the heels of the tragedy that shocked the nation.
Author Tomoki Chien wrote the piece titled 'Charlie Kirk had college students hooked. Here’s what they’re saying in group chats.'
As a college student himself, Chien wanted to share his peers' perspectives on the jarring murder of the 31-year-old Turning Point USA co-founder.
'These texts come largely from liberal students, born and raised in California. Some jeered Kirk. Others mourned his death. All were anxious about the future of their country,' Chien wrote.
'To be clear, I’m not endorsing anybody who’s cheering on Kirk’s death; these screenshots are meant to reveal students’ unfiltered thoughts. Here’s what they had to say.'
The story and its supplementary Instagram post featured screenshots of the conversations students submitted.
These conversations included messages among friends, chronicling the moments they found out Kirk was shot to when they learned he was killed at Utah Valley University in Orem.
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'His views are f**ked...like he hates abortion,' one person wrote in a chat shared by a 20-year-old from the University of Southern California.
'He said that if his daughter was raped and got pregnant he would make her keep the baby.
'Shot in the neck is 100 percent dead there's no way.'
In another discussion, submitted by an 18-year-old UC Berkeley student, someone wrote: 'If it's a person of color that shot him too...We're screwed bro.'
'Mf better not die or we're cooked,' another person replied.
'I accidentally came across the video [of Kirk being shot] and I'm traumatized.'
A conversation shared by a 20-year-old Tulane student touched upon political violence.
'Killed for speech,' one student wrote in one of the only responses that empathized with Kirk.
'Only one on the right who reached across and talked to people he disagreed with.'
'Lot of liberals are purposely missing the point that political violence is a generally separate, albeit partially related issue to gun control,' another message read.
In a correspondence shared by a UC Berkeley student, 21, someone wondered if the shooter 'was waiting for a gun question' before pulling the trigger.
In messages shared by a Pomona College student, the texters appeared to have taken a celebratory stance on the gory assassination.
'Did y'all see the Charlie Kirk shooting?' one student wrote with a praying emoji.
'Yupppppp,' another replied. 'One man down...Jk why couldn't that be Trump?'
When the article and Instagram post with the messages were published on Wednesday night, many viewers were sickened by what they saw.
They slammed The San Francisco Standard for sharing the texts, saying the choice was tone-deaf and uncalled for.
'This is rage bait,' one commenter wrote, with another asking, 'WHAT IS THIS???????????'
'Trash news reporting,' someone bluntly asserted. Another agreed 'this is an obscene use of media resources.'
'WTF kind of news is this? UNFOLLOWED,' one man wrote after scrolling through the post's slides.
'"Here, these screenshots of a snippet of regular people's private conversations should help,"' a user mocked the premise of the article.
'@sfstandard this is so distasteful,' one woman bluntly wrote.
'Wow what a bunch of disgusting, soulless responses justifying political terrorism and murder,' another declared.
Some users questioned who was willing to submit these private conversations to the media.
Others urged The San Francisco Standard to 'post some real news' because 'who gives a f**k what a bunch of random kids said in group chats?'
Editor-in-Chief Kevin Delaney declined Daily Mail's request for comment.
Kirk's target demographic, when it came to promoting conservative values, was college students.
He was known for visiting campuses across the nation and debating liberals - with many of his fiery interactions going viral online.
The father-of-two was visiting UVU for this very reason - it was the first stop of his American Comeback Tour.
When a bullet struck Kirk's neck from roughly 200 feet away from the top of the Losee Center - sending blood pouring from his neck and the crowd broke out in panic - he was answering a question about mass shootings.
While Kirk was a well-known figure within college communities, he was not always welcome.
In fact, when he visited UVU on Wednesday, a petition had garnered 7,000 signatures to have him banned from campus.
But his devotion to the MAGA movement and traditional values forged him close ties with Donald Trump, who believed that Kirk truly resonated with the country's youth.
'No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,' the president wrote on Truth Social when he announced Kirk's death.
The killer is still on the loose, according to the FBI. They released new evidence Thursday night, showing the suspect jumping off the roof of the building he fired from and fleeing on foot.
While the FBI has not declared a possible motive for the shooting, Trump told reporters he had an idea of what drove the culprit to kill.
'We'll let you know about that later,' Trump said, adding authorities are making 'big progress.'