Utah governor slams social media for acting as 'conflict entrepreneurs' in the wake of Charlie Kirk's killing
Last Friday, Cox reported during an interview with Fox News that his administration would seek to have Charlie Kirk's killer, Tyler Robinson, face the death penalty for the crime committed at Utah Valley University.
Spencer Cox, in a file image.
On Sunday, Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox criticized social media for the role it has been playing in the murder of Charlie Kirk, explaining that they have acted as "conflict entrepreneurs" that have pitted Americans against each other, further suggesting that the public needed to regain the autonomy lost since their rise. "I can't emphasize enough the damage that social media and the internet is doing to all of us, those dopamine hits. These companies, trillion dollar market caps, the most powerful companies in the history of the world have figured out to how to hack our brains, get us addicted to outrage, which is the same type of dopamine, the same chemical that you get from taking fentanyl, get us addicted to outrage, and get us to hate each other," Cox explained during a interview on NBC News.
Similarly, the conservative leader stressed that this whole phenomenon has been seen unfolding "in real time since the tragic death of Charlie Kirk" and in "every corner of our society," detailing that the public must once again be concerned about close contact not only with family and friends, but also with the community. "The conflict entrepreneurs are taking advantage of us. And we are losing our agency. And we have to take that back. We have to turn it off. We have to get back to community, caring about our neighbors, the things that make Americans great, serving each other, bettering ourselves, exercising, sleeping, all of those things that this takes away from us," Cox said.
In another interview on CNN, Cox explained the pain that has been generated in both Utah and the United States by Kirk's murder, and detailed that no one should be a victim of violence for expressing their opinions. The Republican governor told the progressive network that, while Kirk went on to say "inflammatory things," the young conservative activist also "said other things about forgiveness."
"He said some amazing things about when things get dark, putting down our phones, reading scripture, going to church, talking to our neighbors. He said that we have to engage, and that's what I appreciate most about Charlie Kirk," Cox noted on CNN.
Cox said his administration will seek to punish Tyler Robinson with the death penalty
"We are going to be seeking the death penalty. I've said that before; we're working with the prosecutor to get that information ready so they can pursue that. I will also say that we believe very strongly that the victims need to play a role in these conversations. So in the days that come, the prosecutor will be having conversations with Charlie's family. I always worry that they get lost in all of this," Cox commented during the interview on the conservative network.
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