Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
Did any media outlets publish full transcripts or video clips of Kirk’s MLK remarks, and where can they be found?
Executive summary
Reporting shows some outlets published verbatim quotes, summarized passages, and verified audio for Charlie Kirk’s remarks about Martin Luther King Jr., but full mainstream-published transcripts or widely available video clips of the specific on‑the‑record remarks at America Fest are not consistently present in the public record provided here (Snopes and FactCheck report verifying audio existed; Wired first reported the remarks) [1] [2] [3]. Several news outlets republished quotes and journalistic summaries rather than full, embedded primary-video files or complete verbatim transcripts (The Guardian, Newsweek, Baptist News) [4] [5] [6].
1. What the investigative reporters published: Wired’s original reporting and its sourcing
Wired published the first long-form account attributing the “MLK was awful. He’s not a good person” line to Kirk and placed the remarks at Turning Point USA’s America Fest in December 2023; Wired’s reporter said the comments came in a smaller conference room rather than the main stage, and Wired framed those words as part of a broader effort by Kirk to discredit MLK and the Civil Rights Act [3]. Wired’s story established the provenance that other outlets later cited [3].
2. Fact-checkers that verified — and what they found available
FactCheck.org examined viral claims after Kirk’s killing and said the quotes appeared in reporting (Wired) and noted that the specific comments “are not available in the recordings posted to YouTube of the conference that year,” while also reporting that the Wired journalist told them he “had witnessed the remarks” in a smaller room [2]. That indicates fact-checkers verified firsthand reporting and corroborating audio existed to those outlets even if the public YouTube conference videos did not contain them [2].
3. Snopes and audio access: confirmation but limited public clips/transcripts
Snopes independently verified the quote, reporting that Wired’s journalist William Turton provided an audio recording which Snopes reviewed to confirm Kirk said the quoted words; Snopes therefore treats the attribution as accurate while noting the original reporting and the audio provided to fact‑checkers [1]. Snopes’ writeup and FactCheck.org’s piece together imply primary audio existed for verification, but they do not point to a publicly hosted, full-length mainstream transcript or embedded video clip available to all readers [2] [1].
4. Mainstream outlets’ approach: quotes, paraphrase, and compiled “in his own words” pieces
After the reporting and Kirk’s death, outlets such as The Guardian, Newsweek, Baptist News, and others published compilations of Kirk’s quotes or reportage that reproduced the MLK comment and similar remarks; these pieces relied on Wired’s reporting and the fact‑check verifications rather than republishing a full, original conference transcript or embedding the entire room‑scale video [4] [5] [6]. Zeteo and other aggregators likewise posted “in his own words” lists, but these are secondary compilations rather than primary, publisher-hosted full transcripts [7].
5. Where to find the verified material — what the sources indicate
Available reporting shows:
- Wired’s January 2024 article is the originating long-form account that contains the passage and context [3].
- FactCheck.org and Snopes published verification write‑ups summarizing their review and noting an audio recording was provided to reporters/fact‑checkers [2] [1].
- Subsequent news outlets (The Guardian, Newsweek, Baptist News) republished the quoted language with attribution to Wired or fact‑checkers [4] [5] [6].
None of these provided, in the material cited here, a single embedded full transcript or an on‑site video clip publicly hosted that contains the smaller conference‑room remarks in full; FactCheck specifically notes the YouTube conference recordings do not contain the comments [2].
6. Competing perspectives and limits of the record
Journalists and fact‑checkers agree the quote was said and that Wired’s reporter witnessed it [3] [2] [1]. However, there is a disagreement in practical availability: public conference videos posted to YouTube did not contain the remark, which limits independent verification by ordinary readers [2]. Available sources do not mention a public archive link to the smaller‑room video or a full official transcript that a reader can click and watch or download [2] [1].
7. If you want to locate primary material
Based on the sources here, the likely avenues to locate primary audio/video would be: Wired’s reporting and any materials the Wired reporter made available, or the audio files provided to Snopes and other fact‑checkers; the articles above (Wired, FactCheck.org, Snopes) are the documented trails that confirm the remarks and would be the starting point cited by later outlets [3] [2] [1]. Available sources do not mention a public link to a full, publisher-hosted transcript or video clip of the smaller‑room remarks [2] [1].
Limitations: This answer uses only the provided reporting and does not assert whether unpublished or paywalled primary files exist beyond what those reports state; available sources do not mention such links [2] [1].