Utah’s governor inspired the general public to keep away from social media within the wake of Charlie Kirk assassination this week — calling apps like X, Fb and TikTok a “most cancers on our society” and telling residents to “contact grass.”
Gov. Spencer Cox stated the bloody, horrifying pictures of the 31-year-old conservative activist’s Wednesday taking pictures dying, that are nonetheless circulating on social media, are too brutal for folks to see and can solely result in psychological injury.
“We aren’t wired as human beings — biologically, traditionally — we have now not advanced in a means that we’re able to processing these sorts of violent imagery,” the governor argued.
Cox, 50, serving in his second time period as Utah’s governor, additionally referenced pictures of the deadly “ugly stabbing” of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a light-rail practice in Charlotte, N.C., that “went viral” as one more reason to keep away from social media platforms.
“This isn’t good for us,” he stated of watching the killing of human beings. “It isn’t good to devour.”
“Social media is a most cancers on our society proper now,” Cox added. “I might encourage folks to log out, flip off, contact grass, hug a member of the family, exit and do good in your group.”
Earlier within the press convention, Cox shared a number of quotes attributed to Kirk, together with a June X submit from the Turning Level USA founder, in an effort to mood the net discourse surrounding the assassination.
“When issues are shifting very quick and individuals are dropping their minds, it’s essential to remain grounded. Flip off your cellphone, learn scripture, spend time with mates, and keep in mind web fury will not be actual life. It’s going to be okay,” Cox stated, quoting Kirk.
The governor stated he considered Kirk’s assassination — allegedly by the hands of suspected killer, Tyler Robinson, 22 — as a “watershed in American historical past” and that it is going to be as much as People to find out “what sort of watershed.”
“Is that this the top of a darkish chapter in our historical past, or the start of a darker chapter in our historical past?” Cox stated.
The governor added that the general public now has the selection to both “escalate” or “discover an off-ramp,” and he urged folks to decide on the latter.
