Fact Check: Did Erika Kirk announce $175M Charlie Kirk legacy academy?

WASHINGTON, DC: Social media users have been sharing posts claiming that Erika Kirk has announced a $175 million contract to build a first-ever boarding school for orphans and homeless students in Chicago. 

The viral posts contains an image that appear to show Erika Kirk signing a document with a demo image of the school. So, let's find out if there's any truth to these claims. 

Claim: Erika Kirk announces $175M Charlie Kirk legacy academy

Several social media posts, particularly on Facebook, claimed that Erika Kirk announced a $175 million academy that would continue the legacy of Charlie Kirk by accommodating orphans and homeless students.

A post published on October 29, 2025, by the @John Foster Fans account on Facebook included an image of the Erika Kirk with the caption, “Erika Kirk has just shocked America — announcing a $175 million contract to build her late husband Charlie Kirk’s dream project in Chicago: the first-ever boarding school for orphans and homeless students. The groundbreaking initiative, named The Kirk Academy of Hope, will provide full education, housing, and mentorship programs for children who have lost everything.” 

Another public group 'MovieQuotes' with 853.5K members on Facebook posted an image, and the caption with a website link which read, "Charlie Kirk Legacy Academy: A Vision of Hope and Compassion".

As per the claims made by the website, the plan is to name it the Kirk Academy of Hope. It is to be the nation's first boarding school for orphans and homeless children. They further claimed that the institute would be opened in Chicago.

The claim was shared on X as well, with one person writing “This is a very bad idea. Republicans shouldn’t be allowed to set up things like that for children…”.

Fact Check: Erika Kirk did not announce a $175 million Charlie Kirk legacy academy

The claims circulating on social media that started to make their rounds on October 29 and 30, stating that current TPUSA CEO Erika Kirk announced a $175 million Charlie Kirk Legacy Academy in Chicago, are false.

This can be supported by the fact that there have been no announcements from TPUSA or Kirk's personal social media accounts announcing anything along these lines. Meanwhile, a fact-check by Grok also dismissed the story, noting it only circulates with identical, sensational phrasing on social media and lacks verification from credible news sources.

After Charlie Kirk's death, a number of false claims have surfaced

The false Charlie Kirk Legacy Academy is only the latest in a wave of misinformation associated with Charlie Kirk. The founder of Turning Point USA was fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025; since then, several fabricated stories have exploited the incident.

Among previously debunked claims were viral hoaxes that Fortnite launched a new ‘Charlie Kirk Bundle’ to honor the late Turning Point USA founder and that Disney had offered $60 million to Hollywood stars for a documentary about his life, all while Erika Kirk, his widow, received a mysterious $350,000 money transfer in the weeks leading up to his death.

All the claims have been debunked by several fact-checking organizations, each finding they originated with either a satirical or otherwise manipulated post intended to trick readers. 

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