Charlie Kirk shooting sparks Anthony Albanese warning on social media, rising extremism

Social media “pushes people to extremes”, Anthony Albanese has warned after the apparent assassination of a prominent right-wing activist in the US.

Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot dead while speaking at a university in Utah.

A close ally of Donald Trump, he co-founded conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA at 18 and led a push to promote conservative viewpoints on campuses.

His death has been broadly condemned both within the US and internationally as countries, including Australia, grapple with rising political violence.

The Prime Minister on Friday said “there is no place for political violence” and his “thoughts are certainly with Charlie Kirk’s loved ones at this time”.

“Political issues should be dealt with in the way that we dealt with them on May 3rd – having a respectful debate, people casting their vote through the democratic means, and respectful transition of power,” Mr Albanese told local radio in Cairns, Queensland.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing a polarisation of politics.

“I think the impact of social media is playing a role there.

“It pushes people towards extremes, whether the left or the right, and that’s not a good thing.”

He went on to say he thought Australia was fairing better than others because the electoral system “pushes people towards more mainstream views and mainstream politics, rather than being at the edges and trying to make people angry and respond emotionally”.

“And it is a real concern when you look at the world – there’s no place you’d rather be than here in Australia,” Mr Albanese said.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) hiked the terror threat level to “probable” last year due to deteriorating social cohesion.

ASIO chief Mike Burgess has since been calling on the country, including politicians, to cool down the political discourse, warning that Australians are becoming radicalised for increasingly complex reasons.