US right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was shot dead on Sept. 10 during a public forum at Utah Valley University by an assassin firing from 183m away. He was 31. The suspect, Tyler Robinson, was arrested two days later after being turned in by his father and a friend. Surprisingly, Robinson himself came from a traditional conservative Republican family.
Differences of opinion are natural in a democracy. However, resorting to violence crosses a red line, and the taking of a young political figure on the rise is a tragedy. In stunned response, the US White House ordered the flag to be flown at half-staff at federal sites for four days, while more than 100,000 people at a right-wing rally in the UK mourned Kirk’s death.
The alleged assailant was born and raised in a democratic society, yet chose to silence opposing ideas with a gun. This should serve as a warning for democracies worldwide — Taiwan included.
Young people are increasingly getting their information from social media, which are notoriously difficult to control, as opposed to traditional print and broadcast media. These platforms are prone to political manipulation by public relations firms, troll farms, artificial intelligence (AI) and bots, often producing an insidious hybridization of “real” and “fake” news.
As soon as a story breaks, online provocateurs pounce. They use the names of real people and places to generate audio clips with voice actors or AI. However, the narratives they weave might divert from or run entirely counter to the real events. These “alternative” stories are spread in droves through automated accounts: Hordes of trolls flood comment sections with insults against political opponents, and sweeping numbers of auto-likes from bots overrun “the algorithm.”
This is how many young people get sucked in. They take to bullying political opponents online and are commended for it, gaining a sense of identity or camaraderie among the group. With that, the genie is out of the bottle; they gain an air of invincibility, and things escalate until many start to say and do things that defy common sense, rationality or even their humanity.
The young white camp supporters online pounding on the legislature doors are cut from this cloth. The scary reality is that parents might not know that their children are engaging in political bullying online. I saw one such incident of a student hurling abuse at a professor online, yet their parents believe them to be well-mannered and dutiful, returning home to vote to protect democracy come election day.
They have just as likely been brainwashed to the point of being unrecognizable, and might already be attacking you online as a “green commie,” maggot or toad. You might imagine them to be as docile as doves, but this disbelief is one that even the shooter’s parents once shared.
Reality must be faced. Parents and governments must act to curb disinformation, or risk losing a generation once expected to be honest, respectful, rational and informed.
Mike Chang is an accountant.
Translated by Gilda Knox Streader
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