Collection

'Professor Watchlist' Monitors 'Anti-American,' 'Leftist' Educators

Rumors about the conservative youth organization have continued to spread months after the fatal shooting of its cofounder Charlie Kirk.

by Rae Deng, Nov. 22, 2016


Erika Kirk, a blonde woman in a sequined gold suit with blue eyes, stands on a stage with a pattern of "TURNING POINT USA" logos behind her.

Image courtesy of Oliver Touron via Getty Images


The conservative youth organization Turning Point USA has generated numerous rumors since its founding in 2012 and subsequent rise on college campuses across the country. 

After the organization's cofounder Charlie Kirk was assassinated in September 2025, social media users claimed the group's other founder, Bill Montgomery, died from COVID-19 complications in 2020. Online rumors also spread about Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, who became CEO of Turning Point USA following her husband's killing. 

Snopes has covered Turning Point USA since 2016, when the organization built a website aimed at tracking what it called "professors who have demonstrated liberal bias." 

Here's a roundup of 10 rumors we've examined about Turning Point USA. For more on the Kirk family, Snopes has previously published collections on Charlie Kirk and Erika Kirk


By Rae Deng

Rae Deng specializes in government/politics and is based in Tacoma, Wash.

Blurry screenshot of video showing small crowd at JD Vance TPUSA speaking event. On the ground are chairs set out on the arena floor so audience members can sit directly in front of the stage set in the middle of the arena. Most of these seats, but not all, are fall. Around the arena floor are thousands of traditional arena seats with a good view of the stage. Most of these are empty, and there may be just a few hundred at most sitting in them.

Video authentically shows sparse crowd for JD Vance at Turning Point USA event

April 17, 2026

Videos, images and reporting from the event showed many empty seats at the event with Vance in A ...

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Did Turning Point USA co-founder Bill Montgomery die of COVID-19? Here's what we know

Jan. 4, 2026

The rumor spread online months after the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, the other Turning Point ...

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Did Erika Kirk take Air Force 2 to Ole Miss Turning Point USA event? Here's the truth

Nov. 4, 2025

The claim spread at the same time as a baseless rumor alleging Kirk was having an affair with U. ...

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Is Turning Point USA hosting alternative 2026 Super Bowl halftime show?

Oct. 9, 2025

Rumors about a show hosted by the conservative nonprofit swirled after the NFL announced Bad Bun ...

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Two logos are shown. On the left, white letters say TURNING POINT ACTION with an arrow curved to the right on its left side. On the right, white letters say ADL Anti-Defamation League on it.

ADL dropped extremist label for Turning Point USA after Charlie Kirk's death

Oct. 4, 2025

Shortly after we asked the ADL why it still categorized its page on TPUSA under "extremism," the ...

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Inspecting claim Oklahoma superintendent required Turning Point USA chapters at all high schools

Sept. 25, 2025

Ryan Walters announced a "partnership" with Turning Point USA the day before he said he would re ...

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Unpacking claims about Charlie Kirk merch released after his death

Sept. 25, 2025

Rumors are swirling about the political organization supposedly selling the products at his memo ...

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FBI's 'Arctic Frost' probe into Jan. 6 investigated Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA

Sept. 20, 2025

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley released whistleblower files he claimed showed the FBI investigated "th ...

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Erika Kirk did not make splashy appearance at Turning Point USA halftime show

Feb. 10, 2026

A 2017 video of WWE wrestler Charlotte Flair resurfaced online.

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'Professor Watchlist' Monitors 'Anti-American,' 'Leftist' Educators

Nov. 22, 2016

Conservative group Turning Point USA created the web site 'Professor Watchlist' to draw attentio ...

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