US EditionTrump Allies Want a ‘Charlie Kirk Act,’ but the Law They Cite Never Held Media ‘Accountable for Lying’
The proposed Charlie Kirk Act aims to reestablish safeguards from the Cold War-era Smith-Mundt Act to prevent federally funded media from targeting U.S. citizens with propaganda, following Kirk's assassination.
- Senator Mike Lee introduced the Charlie Kirk Act on September 18, 2025, in Utah to stop government-funded media from targeting Americans with propaganda.
- The bill responds to the 2013 amendments under Obama that weakened the Smith-Mundt Act's original ban on domestic propaganda by federal media outlets.
- This legislation aims to restore Cold War-era safeguards preventing the U.S. Agency for Global Media’s content from being shown domestically, named as a tribute to the assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
- Lee called his bill “just a flag planted on a hill” and stressed, “What matters is where we carry it next,” while the act would embargo agency media in America for 12 years.
- The act could limit government influence on domestic media narratives and reflects broader political tensions following Kirk’s September 10, 2025 assassination in Utah.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Mike Lee Takes On Taxpayer-Funded Propaganda With Charlie Kirk Act
By Ireland Owens, Daily Caller News Foundation | September 18, 2025 Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee introduced legislation Thursday to restore protections against government-funded propaganda targeted at Americans. The legislation, dubbed the Charlie Kirk Act after the recently assassinated Turning Point USA founder, would restore protections from the 1948 Smith-Mundt Act to block the federal government from “propagandizing its own citizens shapin…
Trump allies want a ‘Charlie Kirk Act,’ but the law they cite never held media ‘accountable for lying’
Three days after Charlie Kirk was assassinated, President Donald Trump shared a supporter’s video pleading with him to reinstate a Cold War-era law she said punished media organizations for spreading […] The post Trump allies want a ‘Charlie Kirk Act,’ but the law they cite never held media ‘accountable for lying’ appeared first on Poynter.
Mike Lee Takes on Taxpayer-Funded Propaganda With Charlie Kirk Act
DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee introduced legislation Thursday to restore protections against government-funded propaganda targeted at Americans. The legislation, dubbed the Charlie Kirk Act after the recently assassinated Turning Point USA founder, would restore protections from the 1948 Smith-Mundt Act to block the federal government from “propagandizing its own citizens shaping media narratives,” according to a pre…
Utah Senator Mike Lee Introduces 'Charlie Kirk Act' To Combat Government Propaganda
Legislation, Dubbed ‘Charlie Kirk Act,’ Seeks to Restore and Strengthen Protections Against Domestic Dissemination of USAGM Content U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) Thursday introduced legislation, the “Charlie Kirk Act,” which aims to restore protections from the Smith-Mundt Act to prevent the federal government from using government-funded media to target American citizens with propaganda. The bill […] Utah Senator Mike Lee Introduces ‘Charlie Kir…
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