Who is Karen Attiah? Acclaimed journalist scores big after firing over Charlie Kirk posts

Former Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah has scored big after she challenged her firing over Charlie Kirk posts.

The Washington Post has been ordered by arbitrator to rehire Karen Attiah, an award-winning journalist and former NABJ Journalist of the Year.

A year ago, Attiah was sacked from her job due to social media posts that appeared after the death of 31-year-old TPUSA founder, Charlie Kirk.

Charlie Kirk was assassinated on September 10, when he was addressing the university crowd at the Utah Valley University.

The order also included paying her full back pay and lost benefits.

Attiah is widely recognised for her work on race, and human rights is set to be reinstated at The Washington Post after the latter lost an arbitration case.

She took to her X (formerly called Twitter) and announced the decision, writing, “I’m happy to announce: I won my case against the Washington Post.

They have been ordered to reinstate me immediately.”

Attiah worked at the Post for 11 straight years before the paper fired her over her controversial posts on the Bluesky platform.

The controversy erupted on September 10, 2025, the day Charlie Kirk was shot and killed.

After the news of Kirk's death surfaced online, Attiah took to her Bluesky handle and shared several comments, making commentary on political violence, gun culture, and what she described as “performative” mourning.

One such post read, “America’s violence was partly sustained by demands that people offer “Care, empty goodness, and absolution for white men who espouse hatred and violence.'"

A Post spokesperson commented on the labour arbitrators' ruling, saying the company respects the arbitration process but declined to comment further, per The Guardian.

Who is Karen Attiah?

Attiah was hired by the Post in 2014 as a digital producer in its Opinion section after she had briefly worked at the AP, and the World Bank.

She escalated the ladder, becoming founding editor of the Post’s Global Opinion section.

Later in 2021, she assumed the role of staff opinion columnist, writing about race, culture and global affairs.

Attiah’s work earned her the accolade of 2019 George Polk Special Award, while NABJ named her its 2019 Journalist of the Year.