A rumor circulated online in December 2025 that Erika Kirk — the widow of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk — gave $1 million to Ahmed al-Ahmed, the man who tackled and disarmed one of the two shooters who killed at least 15 people at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, on Dec. 14. According to the story, Kirk said: “Ahmed did what Charlie always talked about — he chose people over fear.”
For example, the Facebook account US Global Times posted (archived) the story with four different images. One of Erika and Charlie Kirk together, one of Erika Kirk, one of al-Ahmed tackling the shooter and one appearing to show al-Ahmed in his hospital bed. The story read:
BREAKING NEWS: BONDI HERO AHMED AL-AHMED RECEIVES $1 MILLION FROM THE CHARLIE KIRK FUND — “CHARLIE ALWAYS SAID THIS IS WHAT REAL COURAGE LOOKS LIKE.”
From a hospital bed still marked by g.u.n.s.h.o.t wounds, Ahmed al-Ahmed spoke softly to Erika Kirk about the moment that changed everything. He didn’t call it bravery. He didn’t call it sacrifice. He said he simply couldn’t live with himself if he ran while others were in danger.
Moved by his words, Erika announced the $1,000,000 honor from the Charlie Kirk Fund, saying the gift was never about reward — it was about recognition. “Charlie believed courage like this should never be forgotten, never minimized, and never left to stand alone,” she said. “Ahmed did what Charlie always talked about — he chose people over fear.”
Sh0t twice. Still healing. Still uncomfortable being called a hero. And yet, in that quiet hospital room, his humility said more than any speech ever could.
What Ahmed told Erika next — and why this moment is restoring hope for so many — in the link below.
Other Facebook users shared the same claim, and Snopes readers also searched the site for information. Dozens of people in the comments appeared to believe the claim.
However, a Google search of the keywords “Erika Kirk,” “Ahmed al-Ahmed” and “$1 million” primarily produced results related to social media posts of the claim, not stories from reputable news media outlets. Prominent news media outlets would have widely reported this rumor, if true. (While some news sites, such as the Daily Mail, appeared in the results, the keywords appeared on those sites as unrelated stories.)
(Google.com)
Rather, whoever authored the story fabricated the entire tale as one of hundreds of inspirational tales that depicted celebrities and athletes performing inspiring acts of kindness. They aimed to earn advertising revenue on the linked website through engagement on social media. The story about Kirk giving $1 million Ahmed al-Ahmed amounted to fiction.
The earliest post we could find originated on US Global Times, which linked in its bio to an advertisement-filled website. The latest story on the site was dated Nov. 30, 2025.
An examination of the Facebook page’s stories found multiple indications of artificial intelligence-generated images and text. The image appearing to show al-Ahmed in his hospital bed showed clear signs of AI-generation. The Sightengine AI-detection website found a 99% probability that someone “likely” generated the image with AI.
When compared to a real image of al-Ahmed (right) in the hospital, there were several signs of AI generation. For example, the background and al-Ahmed’s clothing differed, his right arm was bandaged in a sling and bloodlike coloring appeared on his leg.
(Supplied to Sydney Morning Herald and Facebook account US Global Times)
Snopes contacted a manager of the US Global News Facebook page to ask about the fictional stories displayed on its feed, and we will update this story if we receive more information.
While this claim and the image of al-Ahmed in hospital were fake, a real fundraiser for al-Ahmed had raised more than $2.5 million as of this writing.
This story resembled glurge, which Dictionary.com defines as “stories, often sent by email, that are supposed to be true and uplifting, but which are often fabricated and sentimental.”
For further reading, Snopes previously reported on another story claiming Kirk was pregnant with her third child, one that Kirk and U.S. Vice President JD Vance were engaged in an affair and a rumor that Kirk was named in Time magazine’s ‘Most Influential People of 2025’ issue.
