And that’s what’s been happening since the gruesome killing of conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk. Why it happens, what it meansThe hagiography of public figures serves several purposes. Digital superchargeTreating public figures like saints is not new, but the speed and scale of the process is. Over the past two decades, social media has turned hagiography from a slow cultural drift into a rapid-fire production cycle. Such clips and verses spread effortlessly across social media, where narratives about public figures can solidify within hours, often before facts are confirmed, leaving little room for nuance or investigation.