A rumor that circulated online in September 2025 claimed Erika Kirk, the widow of late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, filed a $40 million defamation lawsuit against ABC and "The View." According to the posts about this matter, Kirk said, "The things they said about my husband were shameful and disgusting."

Charlie Kirk, 31, was fatally shot Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University in Orem during his "The American Comeback Tour." Prosecutors have since charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson with multiple crimes, including aggravated murder, in the killing of the Turning Point USA co-founder.

In one example of the rumor spreading online, on Sept. 17, an X user posted (archived), "Erika Kirk has filed a 40 Million dollar lawsuit against ABC." The post received nearly 4 million views. A different X post (archived) had more than 1.5 million views. Other users shared this claim on Facebook, Instagram, KnowYourMeme.com (archived), Threads (archived) and X (archived). We also noted the rumor's popularity on U.S. President Donald Trump's social media platform, Truth Social.

The rumor originated with America's Last Line of Defense — the name of a Facebook page and also the name of the page's network, comprised of Facebook pages and websites publishing content labeled as parody and satire.