WASHINGTON, D.C. – An increasing number of social media users are being fired from their jobs for posts that allegedly celebrate the death of Charlie Kirk. These messages are being highlighted by conservative activists, elected officials, and a doxxing website as part of an online campaign to punish the individuals behind them.
The campaigns demonstrate how social media posts and private messages, even from accounts with few followers, can be easily publicized, resulting in personal information being disseminated across the internet.
The issue gained wider attention after MSNBC fired senior political analyst Matthew Dowd. Dowd was let go after he made comments suggesting that Kirk’s rhetoric might have contributed to his own shooting. Following the firing, President Donald Trump weighed in on Fox News, stating, “They fired this guy, Dowd from (MSNBC), who’s a terrible guy, terrible human being, but they fired him. I hear they’re firing other people.”
In a post on his Substack, Dowd attributed his firing to an attack by a “Right Wing media mob.”
Major airlines, including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines, have also confirmed to CNN that they have suspended employees for social media posts related to Kirk’s death.
According to Jeffrey Hirsch, a professor of labor and employment law at the University of North Carolina, private companies in most places can fire employees for any reason, including for “crass social media posts.” The situation is slightly more complex for public sector employees, but their termination is also justifiable if the speech is “so egregious it disrupts operations.”
