Google revealed that assassinated Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk was the top trending search on its engine for 2025.
Google announced that Kirk beat out other search queries such as Democratic mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani of New York City, the Netflix film “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” the iPhone 17 and the 43-day fall government shutdown. Authorities arrested Tyler Robinson, 22, early in the morning of Sept. 12, accusing him of fatally shooting Kirk during a TPUSA event at Utah Valley University two days earlier.
Kirk’s assassination was the third-most searched item for when it came to news, according to Google’s Year in Search 2025 report. It drew more searches than the wildfires that tore through the Los Angeles area in January, the selection of the new pope by the Roman Catholic Church, the Jeffey Epstein files, President Donald Trump’s inauguration for his second term, and the tariffs Trump imposed in April.
Kirk was also the top search when it came to those who passed away, ranking ahead of notable people like actors Michelle Trachtenberg, Val Kilmer, Gene Hackman and Diane Keaton, wrestler Hulk Hogan, Pope Francis and Food Network host Anne Burrell.
Kirk’s widow, Erika, who succeeded her late husband as CEO of the conservative student group, ranked fourth in trends for people, beating out Pope Leo XIV, Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and ABC late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. Robinson, the TPUSA founder’s alleged assassin, ranked second among trending people on Google in 2025.
TPUSA has reportedly received over 100,000 inquiries about starting chapters since the Sept. 10 assassination of Kirk.
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