Charlie Kirk: Microsoft denies supposed employee who celebrated assassination

Shedrach Kongvong 2025-09-12

Microsoft has denied any links to a supposed employee of the company that openly celebrated the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

In response to a tweet calling its attention on 11 September, the company said it was aware of the “misinformation” being circulated and confirmed that the man in question was not their employee.

We’re aware of the misinformation being shared. The individual in question is not a Microsoft employee. We take these matters seriously and are working to ensure accurate information is reflected across our platforms. https://t.co/EunOxxlYXw

— Microsoft (@Microsoft) September 11, 2025

The assasination

Charlie Kirk, a vocal critic of the Democratic party and its activities was assassinated on 10 of September during one of his meetings where he openly debated with those who disagreed with his position.

Kirk was responding to a question from some members of his audience when suddenly he was hit with a bullet from nowhere, right in his throat.

The assasination sparked reactions from both his supporters and antagonizers, the latter mainly celebrating the incident. The man in question, Benjamin Van der Zar whose Facebook profile says he is a Microsoft employee responded by praising the shooter for an accurate shot.

According to his Facebook comment and as believed by many, the shooter was a professional, and the assasination must have been meticulously planned.

Kirk’s killing is part of a broader trend of killings that have become common in the U.S. recently, although most have been random murders that are not politically motivated.

He was killed for speaking out on among other things, the migration policy of the Biden administration, which has led to an increased crime rate in the country.

Microsoft suffers backlash

Microsoft’s clarification has led to some backlash from the X community. Some accused the company of playing politics by labelling the question raised about Van der Zar as misinformation rather than the simple question that it was.

Others say the company should “maybe spend less time writing disclaimers and more time fixing windows updates that actually work?.”