“At the time, I thought that I was saving America”: Former Turning Point USA writer describes how she wrote articles “designed to scare people”

A writer who formerly worked for Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA launched a TikTok series on her experiences and how she changed her mind. Caroline, who describes herself as a “recovering conservative,” says she met Kirk at a young age after being raised right-wing, but everything changed when she went to college and actually learned things.

How conservative media thrives on fear

In a video posted on July 14, Caroline (@babyblue.tx) explained that she encountered Charlie Kirk at age 17 and started writing articles for Turning Point USA soon after. This organization, founded by Kirk in 2012, targets high school and college campuses with far-right messages.

Both the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Southern Poverty Law Center have explored their links to extremist and white supremacist groups and individuals.

In her first video, Caroline described how she used fear to push a right-wing agenda.

“A lot of what I did was writing articles specifically designed to scare people,” she said.

“At the time, I thought that I was saving America,” she continued. “I thought that this was the end-all-be-all, and that if we did not fight for these conservative values, America was gonna fall apart and Hillary Clinton was gonna ruin the world.”

After her family raised her in a conservative bubble, Caroline said she didn’t know any better.

“As a privileged white woman, I was never forced to confront politics,” she confessed.

That is, until she entered the real world.

“A crisis of faith”

In the second half of the video, the former Turning Point writer laid out what changed her.

“In college, I was studying political science, and I started to learn how the world actually works,” she said.

As her perspective began to shift under the pressure of a real education, Caroline experienced a personal crisis. She attributed this to how conservative communities treat politics like a religion.

@babyblue.tx I used to be deeply involved in conservative politics—TPUSA, Charlie Kirk, the whole thing. But over time, I realized how much of it was built on cruelty, trolling, and blind obedience. It took years for me to admit that I’d been convinced to believe things that didn’t sit right in my soul. If you’re feeling uncomfortable with the direction of the right, you’re not alone—and you have permission to question it. That discomfort is your humanity. Listen to it. #ExConservative #PoliticalAwakening #FromRightToLeft #GenZPolitics #LeavingTheRight #deconstruction #Storytime #PoliticalTikTok #AntiFascist #ProDemocracy #ThatGirlWasMe #TellYourStory #FYP #uspolitics ♬ original sound – babyblue.tx

“Your political view was … synonymous with your faith,” she explained. “It was like you almost worshiped politics.”

“For me to question my political views was akin to having a crisis of faith.”

Caroline faced that crisis and came out the other side feeling that conservatism is “unethical” and getting more extreme in the U.S. every day.

So she quit Turning Point, started working in liberal politics in a small Texas town, and decided to make her TikTok series. The very first video on her account already has over 724,000 views and many positive responses from the left.

“Thank you for listening to your heart,” said @3_cats_and_a_kid. “And thank you for being willing to speak out.”

“Charlie Kirk is scared of educated women,” wrote @fosterkitters. “Proud of you.”

Other liberals took the opportunity to point out how important objective education is.

“They’ll say you were indoctrinated by liberal college, but the truth of the matter is, college teaches you critical thinking, citing your research and needing to use evidence-based facts,” said @stellamagz.

The Daily Dot has reached out to @babyblue.tx for comment via TikTok.