Sam Russell against Stuff

Stuff published an article on September 16, 2025, titled Charlie Kirk suspect spoke the language of the far-right.

The story was syndicated from The Telegraph and was written just prior to the first court appearance of Tyler Robinson, the man accused of shooting Mr Kirk. It explored Robinson’s online footprint; his use of memes and the cryptic messages marked on bullets found by the police.

It says while a number of the references were drawn from the extreme right there was no incontrovertible evidence of his political leanings.

Sam Russell questioned whether the photo of Robinson doing a “Slavic Squat” to emulate a Pepe the Frog meme necessarily linked him to the alt-right, given that it was taken seven or eight years earlier. He also said treatment of the quotes etched on the bullets were used dishonestly as some were from the right, some were anti-fascist, and some may have been used ironically.

In response Stuff said the article explored the suspect’s online footprint and other cultural references. It did not claim a definitive motive or ideological alignment and care was taken to note that much remained unclear.

The Media Council notes the article was based on scant information all of which was open to interpretation. It attempted to explain various internet cultural references for clues but made it clear there was no incontrovertible evidence to prove his political leanings.

There was no evidence to demonstration the article was in breach of Media Council Principle (1) Accuracy, Fairness and Balance of (4) Comment and Fact.
 

Decision:  No grounds to proceed.