Utah’s Republican Governor has branded social media as a cancer on society after vile posts and videos exploded online following the assassination of MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk.
Flanked by FBI director Kash Patel—whose own enthusiastic use of social media has come under fire this week—Spencer Cox urged people to log off, warning that humans were not built to process the kind of gruesome imagery that has appeared this week.
“This is not good for us, this is not good to consume,” said Cox, during a press conference with the FBI on Friday, announcing that Kirk’s suspected killer had been taken into custody.
“Social media is a cancer in our society right now, and I would encourage people to log off, turn off, touch grass, go hug a family member, go out and do good in the community.”
The governor’s comments came after a highly graphic video went viral this week showing the moment Kirk was shot on Wednesday while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University.
Since his death, social media platforms like X and Bluesky have also been cesspools of partisan rage, with the left and right blaming each other for the rise of political violence in the U.S.
Patel, the MAGA acolyte whom Trump handpicked to be FBI director, also faced criticism this week after turning to social media on Wednesday to announce prematurely that a suspect in Kirk’s murder had been taken into custody.
Within hours, however, local Utah officials contradicted that statement, saying no suspect had been confirmed in custody.
You have released more Charlie Kirk suspects than Epstein files. What is taking you so long? Have you seen the videos of the person on the roof? Are you at all concerned that a murderer is currently on the LOOSE in Utah?
— Patrick Howley (@HowleyReporter) September 11, 2025
Patel later clarified that two individuals had in fact been questioned over the case but were then released, a blunder that sparked confusion and anger, including from within MAGA itself.
“Stop all this click bait shit you keep doing,” wrote Joe Biggs, a Proud Boys leader who served time in jail for his role in the January 6 Capitol attack.
“It’s unbecoming of the office in which you represent and only proves you were a horrible pick for this position.”
The blunder came as three high-ranking FBI officials who were sacked in August filed a lawsuit accusing the FBI’s leadership of firing them for not being sufficiently loyal to Trump.
In their complaint, they also accused Patel and MAGA podcaster-turned-Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino of being highly susceptible to social media pressure.
One agent in particular was “concerned that the emphasis Bongino placed on creating content for his social media pages could risk outweighing more deliberate analyses of investigations.”
Patel took a much different approach on Friday, waiting nine hours after alleged gunman Tyler Robinson was arrested to make the announcement, ensuring that President Donald Trump could break the news on Fox & Friends.
At a press conference about an hour later, Cox, a two-term political governor who backed Marco Rubio’s to be president against Trump in 2016, confirmed the arrest.
He also used his turn in the spotlight to make an emotional appeal for the country to lower the political temperature.
“We can return violence with violence, we can return hate with hate, and that’s the problem with political violence—is it metastasizes,” said the Utah governor.
“Because we can always point the finger at the other side. And at some point, we have to find an off-ramp, or it’s going to get much, much worse.”
“History will dictate if this is a turning point for our country,” he added, “but every single one of us gets to choose right now if this is a turning point for us.”
The comments were in stark contrast to the message Trump had given during his Fox & Friends interview only moments earlier.
Asked how the country could ever unite in view of the nation’s deep divisions, Trump blamed the radical left while excusing extremists on the right.
“I’ll tell you something that’s going to get me in trouble, but I couldn’t care less,” he said.
“The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don’t want to see crime. They don’t want to see crime. They’re saying: We don’t want these people coming in; we don’t want you burning our shopping centers; we don’t want you shooting our people in the middle of the street.
“The radicals on the left are the problem,” he added.
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