For months, a rumor has circulated online that Erika Kirk, who took over as CEO of Turning Point USA after her husband, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated in September 2025, is pregnant with the couple's third child.
In January 2026, for example, numerous social media users posted examples of the claim. One Facebook post read (archived), in part:
In a deeply emotional revelation that has moved people around the world, Erika Kirk shared that she is expecting the couple's third child , a bittersweet moment unfolding in the wake of the tragic killing of her husband, Charlie Kirk, at just 31 years old.
(Facebook)
A parody X account also posted the rumor in late January 2026 (archived), while earlier iterations of the claim circulated on Facebook in October 2025. Those posts featured images purportedly showing Erika Kirk holding ultrasound photos or crying over a gravestone featuring her late husband's name. Comments on the posts often linked to advertisement-filled stories about her alleged pregnancy.
Multiple Snopes readers have also repeatedly searched our website to verify whether the claim has at any point been true.
In short, there was no evidence at the time of this writing that Erika Kirk was pregnant with her and Charlie Kirk's third child. She had not confirmed a pregnancy on social media, nor in public remarks following her husband's death.
Instead, the unfounded rumor stemmed from Facebook posts that were seemingly created to generate advertising revenue for the aforementioned external websites or to boost engagement on social media.
Snopes reached out to Turning Point USA, the youth organization that Charlie Kirk co-founded, for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
What Erika Kirk has said in public remarks
During a November 2025 interview with conservative commentator Megyn Kelly, a portion of which was shared as a clip on YouTube (archived), Erika Kirk discussed wanting four children with her husband and said she had prayed she was pregnant after his death. She did not, however, confirm she was pregnant.
The unsubstantiated rumor about Erika Kirk's third pregnancy first spread on social media less than a week after her husband's death on Sept. 10, 2025. Snopes reviewed her full speech from her husband's memorial on Sept. 21, 2025, in Arizona and found no mention of a pregnancy, contrary to social media posts' claims.
Erika Kirk also addressed the public in a video (archived) shared on Instagram several days after her husband's death. In the video, she stood behind a lectern bearing a photo of her husband and a message that read: "May Charlie be received into the merciful arms of Jesus, our loving Savior."
She did not mention being pregnant with the couple's third child in the video, either. However, she did reference their family and two young children multiple times during her remarks.
"But most of all, Charlie loved his children. And he loved me with all of his heart. And I knew that. Every day, I knew that," she said before calling him a "perfect" father and husband.
In a separate Instagram post, she memorialized her spouse and included a photo of the couple with their two children. That post did not include a pregnancy announcement. It read:
The world is evil.
But our Savior. Our Lord. Our God. Не...Не is so good. I will never have the words. Ever.
The sound of this widow weeping echos [sic] throughout this world like a battle cry.
I have no idea what any of this means. But baby I know you do and so does our Lord.
They have no idea what they just ignited within this wife. If they thought my husband's mission was big now..you have no idea.
You. All of you. Will never. Ever. Forget my husband @charliekirk1776 I'll make sure of it.
Rest in the arms of our Lord baby as He blankets you with the words I know your heart always strived to hear, "well done My good and faithful servant."
Pregnancy rumor stems from Facebook posts
The unfounded rumor about Erika Kirk's pregnancy stemmed from Facebook posts that were seemingly created to generate advertising revenue for linked external websites.
One of those websites displayed a "USA News" logo, which has previously appeared on other websites that published false stories about MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes.
An analysis of several of the images included in the posts and text in the attached articles indicated they were likely created with the help of artificial-intelligence software.
We pasted text from a social media post and from an attached article into GPTZero, an AI detection tool, which indicated it was "highly confident" that the content was AI-generated. However, it's important to note that AI-detection software is imperfect and readers should interpret the tools' results with caution.
We independently identified signs that the text may have been AI-generated, too. For example, it contained emotionally charged language, such as "the news swept through her supporters like a storm" and "with tears and trembling hope." This type of language is common in AI-generated content that's designed to elicit reactions and boost engagement.
A close inspection of several images used in the posts also showed telltale signs of AI generation, such as unnaturally smooth skin or an absence of shadows in places they would typically appear. One image that appeared to show Erika Kirk crying over her husband's gravestone also included distorted lettering. AI image generators often struggle to produce legible text.
(Rana Rizwan on Facebook)
Instagram countdown leads to further speculation
Previously, some social media users speculated that Erika Kirk planned to announce her third pregnancy on Sept. 16, 2025.
The speculation stemmed from a countdown post (archived) Kirk shared on Sept. 2 that read, "…walk the countdown with us. 9.16.2025." In an accompanying video, she is heard saying, "What if childhood could hold eternity?"
However, there was no evidence at the time of this writing that the countdown was related to a pregnancy, and she had not made any such announcement on Instagram.