Life Difficulties, Violent Online Extremism and Support for Political Violence in the United States

Exposure to violent extremist content online predicts support for political violence in the U.S. Online exposure to violent extremist content is amplified for individuals suffering from various life difficulties because people facing life challenges may harbor resentment and anger, and blame others for their woes. This creates a cognitive opening that attracts such individuals to extremist content online. Based on data from two nationally representative surveys conducted in the Summer of 2023 in the U.S. the interaction between exposure to violent extremist content and life difficulties is associated with…read more