Did Paul McCartney hold one minute of silence for Charlie Kirk and the victims of 9/11 during a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York? No, that's not true: The story was made up by a Facebook page and website managed by someone in Vietnam. No such concert was listed on the website of the venue and the story contained verifiably false details about trending hashtags.
The viral story appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) on a page named "Rustwood Rhythms" on September 12, 2025 and it read:
Last night in New York City, Paul McCartney turned a packed arena into something unforgettable. Midway through his set--right as the guitars roared and the lights dazzled--he suddenly stopped playing. The legendary Beatle stepped forward, gripping the mic, and asked the crowd to join him in a one-minute moment of silence for Charlie Kirk and the lives lost on 9/11.
In an instant, 20,000 fans fell completely silent. No cheering, no phones--just a stadium holding its breath.
Then, as the silence ended, McCartney began to sing "God Bless America." His voice, rich and steady, filled the arena, joined by thousands more until the entire crowd became a single, powerful choir. Flags waved, tears streamed, and what began as stillness became a roaring anthem of unity and hope.
Paul didn't just play a concert--he turned it into a historic, emotional tribute the world will never forget.
This is what the image in the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Sat Sep 13 08:28:34 2025 UTC)
The story linked to an article on a website named "USA Hotness" (archived here) with a headline that read "Paul McCartney Turns NYC Concert Into a Sacred Tribute for Charlie Kirk and 9/11 Victims" which opened:
New York City will not soon forget what happened last night inside Madison Square Garden. What began as a high-energy concert by Sir Paul McCartney -- full of roaring guitars, screaming fans, and dazzling lights -- became something no one saw coming: a moment of pure reverence, unity, and heartbreak that brought an entire stadium to tears.
It was midway through the show. McCartney had just finished a rocking version of "Band on the Run," the crowd screaming and stomping along, when he suddenly raised his hand. The band went silent. The lights dimmed until only a single spotlight shone on Paul, standing center stage with his Höfner bass slung across his shoulder.
For a long moment, he said nothing. The packed house of more than 30,000 fans grew quiet, waiting. Then, in that soft, Liverpool-accented voice the world has known for decades, Paul spoke:
"New York... tonight we sing, but we also remember. We remember September 11. We remember the innocent lives we lost. And we remember a young man, Charlie Kirk, who was taken from this world just days ago."
The story also mentioned following detail:
Social media exploded within minutes. Videos of the moment began circulating immediately, with hashtags like #PaulMcCartneyTribute and #ImagineAtMSG trending worldwide.
However, searches on x.com for posts with either of those hashtags only brought up one single post in Japanese (archived here) that was published since the shooting of Charlie Kirk.
ポール・マッカートニー、オアシスのサプライズ出演後に2026年初頭アルバム発売を計画#PaulMcCartney #paulmccartneytribute
-- ゆめ参加 Beatles & Paul McCartney World News！ (@norinatu) September 12, 2025
https://t.co/ovrgvllEaw
Archived copies of the website of Madison Square Garden (archived here) did not list any concert by Paul McCartney on September 11, 2025.
(Image source: screenshot of archived Madison Square Garden website.)
The transparency tab of the "Rustwood Rhythms" page on Facebook (archived here) revealed it is being managed by someone in Vietnam:
(Image source: screenshot of the page transparency tab of "Rustwood Rhythms" page on Facebook.)
