Hours after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed[1] Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University, internet users found a book on Amazon that detailed the assassination — with a publication date preceding the shooting.
“Can someone honestly explain to me how a book titled ‘The Shooting of Charlie Kirk: A Comprehensive Account of the Utah Valley University Attack, the Aftermath, and America’s Response’ was published on Amazon.com on SEPTEMBER 9TH, when the event took place on SEPTEMBER 10TH??” one user wrote Sept. 11 on X.[2]
“Who Staged Charlie Kirk’s Assassination?” another X user posted[3]. “Author credited as Anastasia J. Casey. Amazon listing (Kindle edition) had a publication date showing September 9, 2025, which is one day before the reported date of the shooting. The listing has reportedly been removed. So who is Anastasia J. Casey?”
A book with that title by an author listed as Anastasia J. Casey was briefly available on Amazon,[4] and the site showed the book was published Sept. 9.
But that was a technical error, Amazon said in an email to PolitiFact. The book, which was created using artificial intelligence, was published Sept. 10 after the fatal shooting. The erroneous publication date is not evidence that Kirk’s shooting was planned or staged. The e-book — initially sold for $6.99 — has since been removed from Amazon’s website.
“Due to a technical issue, the date of publication that had been displayed for this title, while it was briefly listed, was incorrect, and we apologize for any confusion this may have caused,” Amazon said in its statement. “The title was published late in the afternoon on September 10th.”
The author’s name also appears to be fabricated. We found no information about the purported author, Anastasia J. Casey; the book about Kirk’s shooting is the only one[5] listed under that name.
Amazon said the book was removed because it violated the company’s content rules[6].
The AI-generated book draws from information that was already available online, such as news reports and public statements from law enforcement officials. And this isn’t the first of its kind. We previously fact-checked a similar instance[7] of an AI-generated e-book that appeared online in the wake of the 2023 Maui wildfires.
AI-generated books have become increasingly common[8] on Amazon because of tools such as ChatGPT that let users create books in hours, including exploiting breaking news events.
Users can then self-publish those books, without a literary agent or publishing house, with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing[9] service.
In 2023, Amazon introduced a policy[10] requiring Kindle Direct Publishing authors to disclose whether their creations are AI-generated, including the title, cover art and product description.
“The Shooting of Charlie Kirk” did not appear to disclose this information.
A book on Amazon titled “The Shooting of Charlie Kirk” that had an inaccurate publication date is not evidence the event was staged. We rate this claim False.
RELATED: ‘Rough road ahead’: Charlie Kirk’s assassination highlights the rise in US political violence[11]
Sign up for PolitiFact texts
References
- ^ was shot and killed (www.politifact.com)
- ^ one user wrote Sept. 11 on X. (x.com)
- ^ another X user posted (x.com)
- ^ was briefly available on Amazon, (web.archive.org)
- ^ the only one (bookscouter.com)
- ^ content rules (www.amazon.com)
- ^ fact-checked a similar instance (www.politifact.com)
- ^ increasingly common (www.reuters.com)
- ^ Kindle Direct Publishing (kdp.amazon.com)
- ^ policy (kdp.amazon.com)
- ^ ‘Rough road ahead’: Charlie Kirk’s assassination highlights the rise in US political violence (www.politifact.com)