Antisemitic Charlie Kirk conspiracy theorist rakes in votes for governor despite widespread condemnation

Nypost · 🇮🇱 public Israel · Jun 03, 2026 · 577 words · By Katie Jerkovich

Election Integrity Government accountability Antisemitism

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What to know about Election Integrity

Antisemitic Charlie Kirk conspiracy theorist rakes in votes for governor despite widespread condemnation See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 10

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center88%

Right12%

8 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Antisemitic Charlie Kirk conspiracy theorist rakes in votes for governor despite widespread condemnation See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The California Post on GoogleA California gubernatorial candidate whose antisemitic conspiracy theories earned furious backlash after they were published in a state voting guide still managed to score more than a thousand votes in his long-shot campaign.

Common ground

Grundmann — who has peddled conspiracies claiming that Israel killed Charlie Kirk and perpetrated the 9/11 attacks — had tallied 1,350 votes as of Wednesday afternoon, with 55% of the votes counted, according to the Associated Press.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Election Integrity story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Grundmann also called Israel America’s “greatest enemy,” claiming the country would set off a “suitcase nuke” in the US as part of a “false flag” operation designed to blame Russia or Iran?
How does this story connect Election Integrity with Government accountability over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/06/03/us-news/antisemitic-charlie-kirk-conspiracy-theori…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 90% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Name Calling / Labeling 85% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 5

check_circle Corroborated 3

verified Verified By Reference 1

help Insufficient Evidence 1

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Claim 1: “Grundmann also called Israel America’s “greatest enemy,” claiming the country would set off a “suitcase nuke” in the US as part of a “false flag” operation designed to blame Russia or Iran”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm Grundmann called Israel America's 'greatest enemy' and claimed they would use a 'suitcase nuke' as a false flag operation to blame Russia or Iran.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2010 United States Senate election in California took place on November 2, 2010. The election was held alongside 33 other United States Senate elections in addition to congressional, state, and va…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_United_States_Senate_elec…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — An election will be held in the U.S. state of California on November 3, 2026, to elect the next governor of California. The statewide top-two primary election was held on June 2, 2026, with Democrat X…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_California_gubernatorial_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — California's 14th State Assembly district is one of 80 California State Assembly districts. It is currently represented by Democrat Buffy Wicks of Oakland.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California's_14th_State_Assemb…

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 2: “He further stated that Israel will “enslave” non-natives.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this specific claim consists of irrelevant search results (Hindi films, honorifics) and does not mention the 'enslave non-natives' statement.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 3: “Don J. Grundmann — who has peddled conspiracies claiming that Israel killed Charlie Kirk and perpetrated the 9/11 attacks — had tallied 1,350 votes as of Wednesday afternoon, with 55% of the votes counted, according to the Associated Press.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While web search results confirm that an 'antisemitic Charlie Kirk conspiracy theorist' (referring to Grundmann) received votes in the June 2, 2026 California governor race, the specific tally of 1,350 votes and the 55% count percentage are not corroborated by a second independent source in the provided evidence.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Two 2024 United States Senate elections in California were held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of California. There were two ballot items for…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_States_Senate_elec…

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 4: “After Jewish groups blasted Grundmann’s statement, the page that included guidelines on the state’s website was taken down, per the Times of Israel.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence does not contain any report from the Times of Israel regarding the removal of the guidelines page.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Follow us on Google. Don Grundmann speaks a rally and counter protest outside a Planned Parenthood office in Modesto, California, August 24, 2019.
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-894089

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web search NEUTRAL — Posted on July 3, 2026 by State of the Nation. ***Everyone is afraid that the Zionist state off Israel will perpetrate another 9/11-level times 10 terror operation in Washington, D.C. some time on thi…
https://stateofthenation.info/?p=70373

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web search NEUTRAL — Grundmann claims, among other things, that conservative activist Charlie Kirk was "murdered by [a] shape-charged bomb Israel used"; that the World Trade Center was destroyed by Israeli art students, a…
https://www.aol.com/articles/antisemitism-ballot-california-…

info

Claim 5: “Several Jewish or Israel-related groups — including the Anti-Defamation League of Orange County and Long Beach, the Jewish Federation of Orange County, and the Israeli American Council — sent a letter to Weber’s office in April protesting Grundmann’s inclusion in the guide.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim contains irrelevant results about Rihanna's album and dictionary definitions of 'anti', with no mention of the ADL or Jewish Federation letters.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Anti is the eighth studio album by the Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on January 28, 2016, by Roc Nation and Westbury Road. Rihanna started recording in 2013 after departing from Def Jam Re…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti_(album)

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web search NEUTRAL — Nov 4, 2025 · The meaning of ANTI is one that is opposed. How to use anti in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anti

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 19, 2026 · Google Antigravity - Build the new way Google Antigravity is our agentic development platform, allowing anyone to build in the agent-first era.
https://antigravity.google/

info

Claim 6: “Grundmann first made headlines in 2019 when addressing a meeting of the Modesto City Council over a “straight pride” event he wanted to host in the city.”

SINGLE SOURCE

One web search result mentions Don Grundmann speaking at a rally/counter-protest outside a Planned Parenthood in Modesto on August 24, 2019, which aligns with the timeframe and location of the claim, though it doesn't explicitly mention the 'straight pride' event in the snippet.

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Claim 7: ““Kirk murdered by shaped-charge bomb Israel used. Government knows,” he wrote in the guide, leading to protests aimed at California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, whose office published the booklet.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources confirm that Don J. Grundmann claimed in the voter guide that Israel murdered Charlie Kirk using a shaped-charge bomb.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2000 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 7, 2000, to elect U.S. Representatives to serve in the 107th United States Congress. They coincided with the election of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_United_States_House_of_Re…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2022 United States Senate elections were held on November 8, 2022, concurrently with other midterm elections at the federal, state, and local levels. Regularly scheduled elections were held for 34…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_United_States_Senate_elec…

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+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 8: “As of Wednesday afternoon, Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra were neck and neck in the race and likely headed to a run-off in the general election in November.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided regarding the specific vote counts or standings of Steve Hilton and Xavier Becerra as of the Wednesday mentioned.

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Claim 9: “The 64-page document includes the name, photo, party preference and personal statement of every candidate on the ballot.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent sources (Yahoo/Amed Post) confirm the candidate guide is a 64-page document containing the name, photo, party preference, and personal statement of every candidate.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 California Secretary of State election will take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the next secretary of state of California. The nonpartisan top-two primary election will take place on Jun…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_California_Secretary_of_S…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — California is a U.S. state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, and Nevada and Arizona to the east; it also shares an international border with …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The secretary of state of California is the chief clerk of the U.S. state of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The secretary of state is elected for four year terms, like the state's …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary_of_State_of_Californ…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 10: “The secretary of state’s guidelines for candidates include a clause that they must submit a statement that is “true and correct.””

SINGLE SOURCE

The Amed Post source mentions that the Secretary of State's guidelines include a clause requiring statements to be 'true and correct', but this is not corroborated by another independent source in the provided set.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — California is a U.S. state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, and Nevada and Arizona to the east; it also shares an international border with …
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/California

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Geography of California Coordinates: 37°9′58″N 119°26′58″W Map of California topography and geomorphic provinces California's major mountain ranges California is a U.S. state on the western coast of N…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_California

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web search NEUTRAL — CA.gov is the official website for the State of California. You can find and access California services, resources, and more.
https://www.ca.gov/

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.