Since Charlie Kirk’s assassination, thousands of Americans are getting doxxed—including me

Doxxing is when someone "publicly identifies or publishes private information about another person as a form of punishment or revenge."

OPINION—I’ve been using the internet since I got my first cell phone in middle school. As soon as I got the chance, I opened my first social media account (Twitter) at fourteen years old — lying about my age, of course. From then, I discovered the internet’s beauty: the ability to express myself with a single tap. I knew the online world could be dangerous, but like many Gen-Zers, it became a normal place to be apart of.

But nothing in my life prepared me for what I witnessed last week.

On my Saturday TikTok live stream, while reporting updates about Charlie Kirk’s assassin, Tyler Robinson, someone posted my home address and wrote, quote, “this guy lives at….”

I was stunned.

I finished the live calmly for my audience, then immediately removed my full name from bylines and my website and filed takedown requests for my personal information.

(My live reaction of someone doxxing me)

Part of me thought it was my fault for not being careful enough. But in that moment — a creator journalist who has covered many stories in my young career — I felt exposed and scared.

As I was gathering my thoughts, people on my live stream started to blame right-wing conservatives. Others shammed me for being too liberal. Before the incident, I was called both a liberal propaganda outlet and a MAGA propaganda outlet.

I am unsure what the person who doxxed me stood for or even who it was.

But one thing is for uncertain—I am not alone.

Hundreds of Americans have reported being doxxed, including people who have never said a word about Kirk. While others have said far more controversial remarks. Regardless, it seems anyone who speaks up — or chooses to stay silent — are becoming a target of this doxxing campaign.

Others have even lost their jobs.

Over the last few days I kept my coverage local, sharing the story of six Massachusetts teachers who are under investigation after making negative comments about Kirk. Nationally, public figures like Jimmy Kimmel have faced consequences for their comments by having his show suspended. It’s also been a frightening week for universities as six HBCUs received bomb threats, and swastikas have been reported at colleges like MIT.

Indeed, these are historic and dangerous times.

Many political scientists say Kirk’s assassination is a seismic political moment, a potential “generational marker” event for the young conservatives who followed him. But to me, more importantly, this moment deepens partisanship and crumbles our democracy.

“We are at war,” someone messaged me, along with the usual threats to my life.

The reality is: we are not at “war.” To quote former Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron, “we are at work.”

At work to protect our rights.

At work to defend a free press.

At work to rebuild local news.

At work to combat misinformation.

At work to protect marginalized communities worldwide.

Not for a political party. Not for a politician.

For our democracy. To hold power to account. To build a better tomorrow.

In the words of Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa; who I had the honor of meeting a few months ago at the GBH Media Summit in Boston.

“If you don’t move and protect the rights you have, you lose them. And it’s so much harder to reclaim them,” Ressa told John Stewart on The Daily Show.

“Is this an information apocalypse or is it an information armageddon?

Because I’m optimistic, I chose armageddon. Part of it is, apocalypse is done, it’s the end of the world. But armageddon is the battle.

This is the battle.”

With love,

Your friendly neighborhood journalist,

Rahim