Image of 'Charlie Kirk's funeral procession' is AI-generated

"Charlie's funeral," reads the Korean-language caption of an image shared on South Korean forum Ilbe on September 15, 2025.

The image appears to show huge crowds in Times Square as trucks draped in American flags drive by. Text above the image reads, "RIP Charles James Kirk".

It circulated after Kirk, a major ally of US President Donald Trump, was shot dead while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University on September 10 (archived link).

News of the shooting provoked horror across the political spectrum, and Trump ordered flags on government buildings be lowered to half-staff.

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Screenshot of the false post captured on September 24, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

The same image was also shared on Facebook, Instagram and Threads by users based in South Korea, where right-wing supporters of impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol -- currently on trial for insurrection and other charges following his disastrous martial law bid -- held rallies mourning the late activist (archived here and here).

While nearly 65,000 people would attend a memorial event for Kirk in the southwestern US state of Arizona on September 21, there were no official reports of a funeral procession for Kirk in New York City's Times Square (archived link).

Visual errors

Running the picture through a reverse image search revealed a label indicating it was created with Google's AI tools.

A Google spokesperson previously told AFP the label appears when a SynthID watermark is detected, and means "the image has been generated or modified with AI" (archived link).

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Screenshot from Google Images, with the AI label highlighted by AFP

The image also contains visual errors indicative of AI-generated content.

The US flags in the image have an incorrect number of stars and stripes, and some of the electronic billboards and road markings visible in the image are nonsensical.

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Screenshot of the falsely shared image, with visual errors highlighted by AFP

The road in the falsely shared image, while resembling 7th Avenue in Times Square, also differs from Google Street View imagery of the area (archived link).

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Screenshot of Street View imagery from Google Maps of Times Square

AFP has previously debunked other misinformation related to Kirk's killing.