Fact check: What was the public reaction to Charlie Kirk's comments about Simone Biles?

1. Summary of the results

The analyses reveal a complex situation involving Charlie Kirk's controversial comments about Simone Biles and subsequent widespread misinformation following Kirk's death in September 2025. The sources consistently establish that Kirk made critical remarks about Biles during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics when she withdrew from several events citing mental health concerns ^[1]. Kirk's comments were part of a broader conservative criticism of Biles' decision to prioritize her mental wellbeing.

The most significant finding across all sources is the proliferation of false information claiming that Biles responded to Kirk's past comments after his death. Multiple fact-checking analyses definitively conclude that Simone Biles never made any public statements about Charlie Kirk following his fatal shooting ^[2]. Comprehensive searches of search engines and Biles' social media accounts found no evidence of any recent statements from her regarding Kirk ^[2].

The misinformation campaign appears to have been sophisticated and AI-generated. Sources identify that false rumors originated from a Facebook page with managers largely residing in Vietnam and utilized artificial intelligence to create fabricated content ^[2]. One particularly notable example involved a viral Facebook post falsely claiming that Biles wrote a blog post about Kirk, which led to an AI-generated article describing a non-existent blog post from the gymnast ^[3].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The analyses reveal several critical gaps in understanding the full scope of public reaction to Kirk's original comments. While the sources establish that Kirk made controversial statements about Biles during the 2021 Olympics, they provide limited detail about the actual content of his criticism or the immediate public response when those comments were first made ^[1].

The timeline of events lacks clarity regarding when Kirk made additional comments about Biles in 2025, as mentioned in one source ^[1]. This suggests there may have been more recent controversial statements beyond the 2021 Olympics criticism, but the analyses don't elaborate on what triggered renewed attention to their conflict.

The sources also fail to address the broader political and cultural context that made this story particularly susceptible to misinformation. The intersection of sports, mental health advocacy, conservative political commentary, and social media manipulation created a perfect storm for false narratives to spread rapidly.

Additionally, there's insufficient information about the legitimate public discourse that may have occurred around Kirk's original 2021 comments. The focus on debunking false post-death statements overshadows any genuine contemporary reactions from athletes, commentators, or the public when Kirk first criticized Biles.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question itself appears neutral, simply asking about public reaction to Kirk's comments. However, the timing of this inquiry is significant given that it comes after Kirk's death and during a period of active misinformation campaigns about this topic.

The question's framing could inadvertently amplify false narratives by not specifying which comments or time period it references. This ambiguity allows for the conflation of legitimate historical criticism with fabricated recent responses, potentially contributing to the spread of the very misinformation that fact-checkers are working to combat ^[3].

The most concerning aspect is how AI-generated misinformation has exploited this topic. The sources reveal that sophisticated artificial intelligence tools were used to create convincing but entirely false content, including fabricated blog posts and emotional statements attributed to Biles ^{[2] [3]}. This represents a new frontier in misinformation where the line between authentic and artificial content becomes increasingly blurred.

The international dimension of this misinformation campaign is particularly troubling, with sources indicating that the false content originated from Vietnam-based Facebook page managers ^[2]. This suggests coordinated foreign involvement in spreading false narratives about American public figures and political discourse.

The persistence of these false claims, despite multiple fact-checking efforts, demonstrates how misinformation can overshadow legitimate news and historical events. The original controversy between Kirk and Biles, whatever its merits, has been completely obscured by fabricated follow-up stories that never occurred.