Top Highlights

• Conservative websites and political leaders, especially at the state and local level, now regularly use violent rhetoric and demonize their political opponents.
• research suggests the incendiary rhetoric of political leaders can make political violence more likely, gives violence direction, complicates the law enforcement response, and increases fear in vulnerable communities
• Part of the problem is that leaders’ remarks do not fade away after they are given. Incendiary rhetoric from political leaders against their political opponents, minority groups, and other targets is often quickly magnified.
• Rhetoric from national leaders also serves as a cue for local figures, particularly if the national leaders have loyal personal followings. The local leaders’ rhetoric in turn is amplified by social media and traditional outlets. Ordinary people play an important role too in spreading the message, sharing it with their own commentary with their fri...
• An academic study found that rhetoric did not change attitudes but rather emboldened individuals to express, and act on, pre-existing views they had once hidden

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