Does Choice of Media Amplify Support for Political Violence?

Acts of political violence have increased in frequency and exposure to American society via news media. Violent rhetoric is a common theme among many forms of media Americans consume, including social media, which has become an essential platform where Americans increasingly get political news information. The events of the January 6 Capitol Riots and the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in late 2024 show how urgent the rise of political violence is and its destabilization of American Democracy. In this paper, I examine the relationship between the types of news media people consume and their potential to increase people’s support for political violence and radicalization. I also investigate other independent factors, such as economic anxiety and level of education. Using Chapman University’s Survey of American Fears' original data set, a national sample of U.S. adults, I find a strong relationship between Americans’ support for political violence and one’s level of educational attainment. Notably, lower than high school and high school levels of education correlate to higher support and approval for acts of political violence. I also find that Fox News audiences exemplified higher levels of support for political violence compared to other news networks and even social media usage, while feelings of victimhood had a noticeable effect on radicalization, evidence being that survey questions implicating unfairness and injustice showed higher respondent support for political violence. Consequently, an inquiry into possible solutions for how we talk about politics in news coverage should be pursued to save the future of American Democracy.