Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, on Friday reportedly denounced social media as a “cancer on our society” shortly after announcing the capture of the suspected gunman in the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The governor identified 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the suspect in the fatal shooting that took place Wednesday at Utah Valley University, where Kirk was addressing hundreds of students at an event hosted by his group, Turning Point USA.
In closing his press conference, Cox turned his focus to what he called the corrosive effects of online culture, urging Americans to step away from digital platforms that amplify violence and division.
“We are not wired as human beings — biologically, historically — we have not evolved in a way that we are capable of processing those types of violent imagery,” Cox said. “And by the way, we’ve seen another one with a gruesome stabbing very recently that went viral. This is not good for us. It is not good to consume.”
The governor was referring to the brutal killing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska aboard a North Carolina train earlier this month, an attack that was widely circulated on social media and prompted renewed outrage over violent crime.
“Social media is a cancer on our society right now,” Cox continued. “I would encourage people to log off, turn off, touch grass, hug a family member, go out and do good in your community.”
The remarks echoed the very advice Kirk himself had offered to his millions of followers in June. In a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Kirk urged young conservatives not to lose themselves in the chaos of online battles.
“When things are moving very fast and people are losing their minds, it’s important to stay grounded,” Kirk wrote at the time. “Turn off your phone, read scripture, spend time with friends, and remember internet fury is not real life. It’s going to be ok.”
Kirk’s words, once intended as guidance in a digital age of constant outrage, now carry a haunting weight in light of his death.
Cox suggested the tragedy offers Americans a choice about the country’s future: whether to continue down a path of escalation or to rediscover common ground.
“Society has a chance to decide where it will go in this moment, to either ‘escalate’ or ‘find an off-ramp,’” he said.
For many conservatives, Kirk’s assassination has underscored the dangers of a culture increasingly fueled by online hostility, where character assassination too often gives way to real violence.
Cox’s remarks signaled a desire to honor Kirk’s legacy not with further outrage, but with a recommitment to civility, faith, and community.
As Utah mourns the loss of one of the nation’s most prominent young conservative leaders, the governor’s warning was clear: the path forward requires turning away from the toxic impulses of social media and returning to the real-world values that sustain American life.
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