Did singer Bob Dylan just "ignite a firestorm" with a single sentence about Charlie Kirk and was that sentence "If you want people to speak kindly after you're gone, speak kindly while you're alive"? No, that's not true: Dylan is just the latest victim in a series of Facebook posts falsely attributing the same quote to various celebrities. According to transparency information most of the pages involved with the fake quote posts are being run from outside the United States.
The Bob Dylan version appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published by a page named "Together We Rise" on September 25, 2025:
"Bob Dylan Just Ignited a Firestorm With One Sentence About Charlie Kirk -- And the World Is Watching"
He could have stayed silent. He could have deleted the post and let it fade.
But Bob Dylan didn't. The music legend doubled down, setting the internet ablaze and sending shockwaves through concert halls, news outlets, and living rooms worldwide.
His words about the late Charlie Kirk -- "If you want people to speak kindly after you're gone, speak kindly while you're alive" -- struck like a match in a powder keg. Critics immediately circled, fans were divided, and social media erupted with debate, praise, and outrage.
Dylan's response was simple, but unwavering: "I stand by this. Be kind -- now more than ever."
Some hail it as an act of bravery, a rare voice of conscience in a fractured culture. Others wonder if it will spark a controversy that could reshape Dylan's legacy forever.
One thing is clear: the sentence didn't just make headlines -- it ignited a conversation about kindness, accountability, and the power of words that shows no sign of dying down. Read our full analysis in the comments.
This is what the image in the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Sat Sep 27 07:36:47 2025 UTC)
The page transparency tab of the "Together We Rise" Facebook page (archived here) indicates it is being run by people from the United States, Mexico and Nepal.
According to an earlier fact check we did in response to several other viral posts, the quote attributed to Bob Dylan ("If you want people to speak kindly after you're gone, speak kindly while you're alive") was previously ascribed to Mookie Betts, Bryce Harper, Mike Norvell, Jalen Hurts, Brock Purdy, Julian Sayin, Aaron Judge, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's daughter Ava, Atticus Sappington, C.J. Stroud and even Stephen Colbert.
At that time Lead Stories searched for part of the quote in combination with "Charlie Kirk" on Facebook and found dozens of quasi-identical posts (archived here):
(Image source: animation created by Lead Stories based on Facebook search.)
