LONG ISLAND, NY – A newspaper out of Long Island reportedly issued an apology for a political comic mocking the assassination of Charlie Kirk, with critics both aghast and flabbergasted as to why the news outlet would attempt to make light of a domestic political assassination mere days after the tragedy.
Long Island news outlet Newsday is currently under fire for featuring a political comic in their print and digital editions created by illustrator Chip Bok which many have viewed as being extremely distasteful and serving as a vehicle to mock the public assassination of Kirk earlier in September.
The comic panel in question depicted an empty chair with a blood splatter pattern across a back wall, with an illustrated mockup of the tent and table Kirk was sitting at Utah Valley University when he was killed in front of hundreds – if not thousands – of onlookers.
Casual readers of the outlet to even elected officials took note of the tasteless comic featured in their September edition, with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman writing on Facebook, “The unconscionable cartoon in Newsday trivializing the assassination of Charlie Kirk is so over the top despicable that it is shocking even for the majority of us who realized long ago that Newsday abandoned any pretension of fairness. Cancel Newsday!”
Suffolk County Republican Party chairman Jesse Garcia also chimed in on the controversy, saying in a statement, “Newsday - the only daily paper for Long Island - has crossed a line. By publishing a vile cartoon about the political assassination of Charlie Kirk, the paper has mocked tragedy, stoked division, and poured gasoline on the flames of political violence. This isn’t journalism. It’s a reckless, partisan attack that blames the victim, silences free speech, and shames everything this country should stand for.”
At the onset of the controversy, Newsday reportedly issued a brief statement regarding the matter, reading, “Newsday apologizes for cartoon about Charlie Kirk assassination.”
However, as public pressure mounted and the news outlet realized the gravity of their careless publishing decision, a longer-form apology was later published by the outlet.
“We deeply regret this mistake and sincerely apologize to the family of Charlie Kirk and to all. We made an error in judgment,” Newsday’s statement read, adding, “The cartoon has been removed from our digital platforms.”
Furthermore, the outlet claimed the original intent behind Bok’s comic panel was meant to emphasize that Kirk’s assassination could potentially serve as “a turning point for healing our nation’s divide,” but conceded that, “The imagery was inappropriate and should never have been published in Newsday.”
Long Island news outlet Newsday is currently under fire for featuring a political comic in their print and digital editions created by illustrator Chip Bok which many have viewed as being extremely distasteful and serving as a vehicle to mock the public assassination of Kirk earlier in September.
The comic panel in question depicted an empty chair with a blood splatter pattern across a back wall, with an illustrated mockup of the tent and table Kirk was sitting at Utah Valley University when he was killed in front of hundreds – if not thousands – of onlookers.
Casual readers of the outlet to even elected officials took note of the tasteless comic featured in their September edition, with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman writing on Facebook, “The unconscionable cartoon in Newsday trivializing the assassination of Charlie Kirk is so over the top despicable that it is shocking even for the majority of us who realized long ago that Newsday abandoned any pretension of fairness. Cancel Newsday!”
Suffolk County Republican Party chairman Jesse Garcia also chimed in on the controversy, saying in a statement, “Newsday - the only daily paper for Long Island - has crossed a line. By publishing a vile cartoon about the political assassination of Charlie Kirk, the paper has mocked tragedy, stoked division, and poured gasoline on the flames of political violence. This isn’t journalism. It’s a reckless, partisan attack that blames the victim, silences free speech, and shames everything this country should stand for.”
At the onset of the controversy, Newsday reportedly issued a brief statement regarding the matter, reading, “Newsday apologizes for cartoon about Charlie Kirk assassination.”
However, as public pressure mounted and the news outlet realized the gravity of their careless publishing decision, a longer-form apology was later published by the outlet.
“We deeply regret this mistake and sincerely apologize to the family of Charlie Kirk and to all. We made an error in judgment,” Newsday’s statement read, adding, “The cartoon has been removed from our digital platforms.”
Furthermore, the outlet claimed the original intent behind Bok’s comic panel was meant to emphasize that Kirk’s assassination could potentially serve as “a turning point for healing our nation’s divide,” but conceded that, “The imagery was inappropriate and should never have been published in Newsday.”
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Comments
2025-09-18T21:43-0400 | Comment by: James
Don't buy this line of BS! They are now running scared and are trying to save the paper so they can continue their despicable work!
2025-09-19T21:10-0400 | Comment by: Paul
Newsday knew exactly what they were doing. Their apology falls on deaf ears. Just as with every other left leaning "news" outlet. Do they really think anybody believes their apologies? The ONLY reason they mouth an apology is in hopes that if they're taken to court they can say to their left leaning judge "hey look, we apologized, all is good".
2025-09-20T16:20-0400 | Comment by: Dean
If anyone reads that garbage they need to cancel it.There is no excuse for printing that and apologizing just don't cut it.cancel!cancel!