The New York Times issued a correction Thursday, admitting it had wrongly attributed an antisemitic remark to Charlie Kirk when the late Turning Point USA founder was actually critiquing the comment.
As part of its story on where Kirk stood on key political issues in the wake of his assassination, The Times reported Kirk was "repeatedly accused of antisemitism." Kirk was a staunch supporter of Israel and has been praised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"An earlier version of this article described incorrectly an antisemitic statement that Charlie Kirk had made on an episode of his podcast. He was quoting a statement from a post on social media and went on to critique it. It was not his own statement," the New York Times wrote beneath the report.
The New York Times said it had wrongly attributed an antisemitic comment to the late Charlie Kirk. (Rebecca Noble/AFP via Getty Images)
The Times corrected the report, but as of Friday morning it still insisted Kirk "was repeatedly accused of antisemitism, including by fellow conservatives." It reported he was a proponent of "replacement theory" and "accused Jewish philanthropists of fomenting anti-whiteness by supporting liberal antiracism causes like the Black Lives Matter movement."
"Allies of Mr. Kirk often sought to defend him against accusations of antisemitism by citing his support for Israel. Mr. Kirk defended Israel’s actions in Gaza," the Times added.
The Times did not specify exactly what was corrected from its original report, and it was unclear if it deleted the passage in question.
The New York Times declined comment when reached by Fox News Digital.
The paper was sharply criticized for the report on social media.
Netanyahu delivered an emotional tribute to Kirk after his tragic death, calling the 31-year-old a "once-in-a-generation" figure.
"He was a defender of our common Judeo-Christian civilization. He was unbelievably excited to walk in the footsteps of Jesus here. He valued our bond, the bond between America and Israel," Netanyahu said Thursday on "The Faulkner Focus."
COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CHARLIE KIRK
Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point's visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)
"He had his truth. He stood up for it," Netanyahu continued. "But he said, ‘You can come and debate me.’ He invited that debate. He certainly didn't invite the violence, the horrible violence that tried to silence him."
Some progressive sites like Snopes have accused Kirk of engaging in antisemitic tropes, such as his remarks on his podcast on Oct. 26, 2023, in the aftermath of the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel.
Kirk was critical of liberal Jewish donors, saying he and other conservative Christians were the ones trying most to defend Judaism and Israel in the U.S.
"In a stunning turn of events, the people that the [Anti-Defamation League] said were Jew haters are actually the biggest defenders of Judaism and Israel right now in the country. Us," he said, pointing at himself. "Conservative evangelical Christians. And Jewish donors, they have a lot of explaining to do, a lot of de-coupling to do, because Jewish donors have been the No. 1 funding mechanism of radical open-border, neoliberal, quasi-Marxist policies, cultural institutions and nonprofits."
"Jews have been some of the largest funders of cultural Marxist ideas and supporters of those ideas over the last 30 or 40 years," he said on another show on Nov. 7, 2023. "Stop supporting causes that hate you."
Last year, a spokesman for Kirk said the notion he didn't support the Jewish people was a "disgusting lie."
Fox News Digital’s Madison Colombo contributed to this report.