A TikTok trend using audio that references the assassination of Charlie Kirk in outfit transition videos is drawing backlash from Turning Point USA and commentators across the political spectrum.

Turning Point USA issued a statement on Saturday condemning the trend and calling for the audio to be removed from the platform.

“Turning Point USA condemns in the strongest terms the TikTok audio trend that uses or references the assassination of our founder, Charlie Kirk, for entertainment,” Turning Point USA shared in the statement.

The videos, which have circulated across social media in recent days, show users incorporating the audio into outfit transition clips, a format widely used on TikTok.

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Turning Point USA said the trend trivializes violence and disrespects the reality of political attacks.

“Charlie Kirk was the victim of a real act of political violence. Turning that into viral content is grotesque and dehumanizing,” the Turning Point USA statement continued.

The organization added that the trend reflects a broader cultural issue surrounding online content.

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“There is nothing harmless, funny, or acceptable about it. It reflects a culture that trivializes violence and reduces real human loss to a punchline,” Turning Point USA’s statement read. Turning Point USA also called for action from TikTok regarding the audio. “This has no place on TikTok. Or anywhere. This audio needs to be removed,” Turning Point USA said.

Online commentators also reacted to the trend as it circulated across platforms.

Riley Gaines, a conservative activist and former NCAA swimmer, also weighed in on the trend in a post on X.

“They claim to be morally superior all while celebrating and laughing at innocent death. It’s a joke to them,” Gaines said. “These people are devoid of decency and humanity. Soulless ghouls.”

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“Women post video using Charlie Kirk assassination sounds for outfit transition… this is gross. The ‘empathy’ side btw,” Brian Atlas said in a post on X.

Additional criticism spread on social media as the videos gained attention.

“The audio of Charlie Kirk getting shot is now a trending transition sound on TikTok for outfit changes. Let that sink in,” Reverend Jordan Wells said in a post on X. “A man’s final moments—gunshot and screams—turned into dance video filler for likes. Sick people. Our culture is completely broken.”

Some commentators on the political left also called out the trend.

Taylor Lorenz, a progressive journalist, noted the trend in a post on X.

“The audio of Charlie Kirk getting shot is now a TikTok sound for outfit transformations,” Lorenz said.

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, TikTok said the audio and related content violated its policies and that enforcement action was taken.

“This does violate our policies, the audio does, and of course, the video,” a TikTok spokesperson said. “We’ve taken steps to remove them, and any kind of repostings or any other content using that audio.”

TikTok said the content fell under its rules prohibiting violent material.

“We don’t allow anything that glorifies violence or anything like that, so we would take that down, which we are,” the TikTok spokesperson said.

“There is value in noting the different policies that other platforms have to allow this content to continue to, you know, circulate and gain visibility.”

Turning Point USA declined to provide additional comment to Fox News Digital.

Many parents worry about screen time and video games keeping their children from learning and developing crucial skills. However, a new study suggests that these same tools can be used to enhance learning experiences.

K12, a U.S.-based online education provider, recently released a new national survey of parents and working professionals aimed at exploring the long-term impact of childhood gaming. The survey showed that 52% of working professionals believed that their childhood gaming helped them build skills that benefited their career, including problem-solving and strategic thinking. K12’s survey also found that 86% of childhood gamers reported that they easily adapt to new tools and technologies, such as AI.

Niyoka McCoy, K12’s chief learning officer, told Fox News Digital that not all educational gaming experiences are the same, pointing to the difference between gamification and game-based learning. Gamification involves adding game-like elements, such as points, streaks or coins, to traditional learning. Game-based learning, by contrast, places the lessons inside the game itself and has students learn skills by playing.

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“Gamification means that, in some cases, it’s getting coins or you’re getting points to be able to go to a store. Game-based learning is where you’re immersed in the actual game, and you’re learning through that environment and everything that’s actually happening to you in that particular game,” McCoy said.

The game-based learning that K12 is using is much different from the types of educational toys or games that have been employed in the past.

“One of the things that we try to do is really hide learning in the game so that we’re connecting the two. So, students are learning, but they don’t even know it because they’re so embedded and so invested in winning the game or getting to the challenge that they’re not even realizing that they are learning fractions,” McCoy told Fox News Digital.

One of the games that K12 has employed for educational purposes is Minecraft, a popular online building game. The company has created several “worlds” that align with its curriculum, including the Roman Empire, Jamestown, Ancient Egypt and oceanic environments.

“Instead of a student reading a textbook and answering questions about Jamestown, they can actually be immersed in a Jamestown world, learn the same skills, and they can still go and take that unit test,” McCoy said.

“We looked at the difference between the students who just read the text, answered the questions, and the students that actually went through the Minecraft world and found that those students did do better on their assessment,” she later added.

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McCoy told Fox News Digital that K12 has seen that students who use the Minecraft spaces have retained the information while going through the gaming aspect because “they’re actually having to build, figure out problems that they’re solving or try to beat the challenge.” She noted that another important element was that students playing the game had to collaborate with friends, making it a more interactive experience in the real world as well.

As gaming begins to play a bigger role in education, it also presents career opportunities. In 2025, the Princeton Review released its ranking of the top schools for game design. Its lists of the top schools for undergraduate and graduate game design programs included New York University, the University of Southern California, Drexel University and Michigan State University, among others.

While these programs are becoming increasingly common, parents still aren’t fully aware of the option and are often concerned about their kids getting too much screen time. McCoy acknowledges that there is a learning curve for parents whose concerns about screen time remain, but she said it’s not about demonizing devices, but rather reorienting their use. Part of that involves differentiating between unstructured scrolling and engaging in games that contain educational content, even in a hidden way.

McCoy said K12 is focused on showing parents the opportunities that gaming can bring, as well as the effectiveness of game-based learning. She told Fox News Digital that some parents changed their views after engaging with the games themselves.

“Now we have parents that are in Minecraft, that are playing with their students. It’s like, ‘I learned so much about Jamestown, I had no clue,’” McCoy said.