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Audio By Carbonatix
One of the more alarming, albeit predictable, trends that has emerged following conservative media personality Charlie Kirk’s Sept. 10 death has been the proliferation of AI-generated images and videos purporting to support Kirk, his message and his followers.
Kirk posing “in heaven” with Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy Jr. and other departed luminaries has filled your uncle’s Facebook page. AI-generated videos appear to show A-list musicians, including Ed Sheeran and Adele, singing a fake song of praise to the deceased Turning Point USA founder.
It was perhaps only a matter of time before megachurches got in on the AI act. On the Sunday following Kirk’s death, preachers across the country eulogized Kirk and found ways to work Kirk’s religious and political messaging into their sermons. One notable church in North Texas took it a few steps beyond that, according to a recent Roys Report article.
On Sunday, Sept. 14, Prestonwood Baptist Church, the giant conservative enclave in Plano, got downright creepy during one of its morning services. Lead pastor Jack Graham, a longtime, vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, called Kirk “a martyr” before adding, “I want you to hear what Charlie is saying regarding what happened to him earlier this week.”
As an image Kirk’s face and an American flag appeared on large video screens, an AI version of Kirk’s voice started by saying, “First, I want you to know that I am fine, not because my body is fine, but because my soul is secure in Christ. Death is not the end. It’s a promotion. Don’t waste one second mourning me,” the AI Kirk said in front of a packed, multi-level auditorium. “I knew the risks of standing up in this cultural moment, and I’d do it all over again.”
The nearly one-minute clip ends with the fake Kirk saying, “Remember this, America is worth it. Free speech is worth it. Fighting for the unborn, for families, for sanity in a culture gone mad, it is all worth it. So, dry your tears, pick up your cross and get back in the fight. Do it with joy, do it with strength and never ever let evil think it won.”
As the audio ended, the congregation offered a standing ovation dotted with cheers (shout out to the guy in the front row wearing a Dallas Cowboys No. 11 jersey; we can’t let Micah Parsons go either, sir). The full video of the Sept. 14 service featuring the Kirk AI presentation is available on the church’s Facebook page.
Just before the Kirk AI audio played, Graham noted that he had only heard it prior to that day’s second service. Two other churches in other states with thousands of attendees reportedly played the same AI Kirk audio that Sunday, including Dream City Church in Phoenix and Awaken Church in San Marcos, California. On Sunday, Sept. 19, a massive memorial service was held outside of Phoenix for Kirk, with some outlets reporting that the event felt like a cross between a “religious revival and a political rally.”
Prestonwood, as some readers might recall, is the same church that produces one of the grandest, most ostentatious Christmas plays every year. It won’t be long now before TikTok is filled with high-energy clips of a living nativity scene, flying angels and Broadway-ready lights and production. Maybe an animatronic Charlie Kirk will make an appearance in the production this year.
