News media source, political orientation of news, and support for political violence

Abstract Political violence is rising in the US and considered a public health concern. The type and political bias of news media individuals consume may relate to support for political violence, yet few empirical studies have examined these associations. Using responses to 25 questions on media consumption in a nationally representative survey in 2022 (n = 12,974), we classified participants according to the type (print, television, audio, social media, text-based messaging) and political bias (right, middle/balanced, left) of news media they consumed. We examined associations between news media type and political bias and 9 political violence outcomes in 2022 using survey-adjusted multivariable logistic regression and assessed whether consuming multiple media types or news with different political biases modified associations. Using social media, text-based messaging, and right-biased news were each positively associated with support for political violence. Consuming news via television and middle/balanced media was inversely related to participants’ belief they would use a firearm to advance a political objective. Neither television nor print media modified the association between social media and political violence support. News consumption patterns are strongly related to support for political violence; this knowledge could help identify individuals at heightened risk and design deescalating interventions.