"Our media plays a crucial role in shaping how people perceive political violence and whether perpetrators of violence or threats achieve their ultimate aims," said Rachel Kleinfeld, senior fellow in the Democracy, Conflict and Governance program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "Threats and violence are often used to terrorize groups of people or public servants. ... Understanding how violent groups try to use the media, and how to instead ensure reporting serves a broader public, is crucial for reducing targeted violence."
Political violence is rare in the United States. Threats of political violence are more common. And in political rhetoric, innuendo that dehumanizes people and groups of people can stoke violence. One of the foundational questions of political violence is not how often it occurs but how many people support political violence in America. And there's a big difference between how many people endorse political violence and how many people fear political violence."
Poorly conducted surveys have inflated or conflated the risk. That's dangerous because it makes violence feel inevitable and allowable. High-quality surveys consistently show minuscule (3 to 4%) support for violence across both parties. Yet, when researchers ask people if they expect violence, the number is much higher.
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